Most Popular Bookies in Brazil

Brazil has a rich sporting tradition, with many former athletes helping to keep competitive juices flowing. At Brazilian sportsbooks, the sports that generate the most action include the following:

Football

Football is the most common sport when it comes to betting. In fact, 99% of sportsbooks offer football betting, and the situation is the same in Brazil. With football being part of Brazil's DNA, the worst thing any bookmaker can ever do is offer other sports at the expense of football.

Football has the broadest range of betting markets, and the fact that it is not purely a game of chance also explains why it is popular among bettors. On top of that are dozens of football competitions happening around the world, including Copa Libertadores, Argentine Primera Division, Serie A, Campeonato Brasileiro, English Premier League, La Liga, and Bundesliga.

Volleyball

Yes, Brazilians love football more than any other sport, but volleyball has its fair share of popularity among these nationals. That's why most sportsbooks for Brazilians will have a section for volleyball punters. There are volleyball matches going on continuously, so punters are sure to find at least a dozen matches to bet on every day.

Other Sports

In addition to the above two sports, Brazilians have at least ten other popular sports to choose from, including table tennis, golf, boxing, tennis, mixed martial arts, horse racing, basketball, and motorsport. Electronic or e-sports are also a favorite for Brazilians.

Brazil has a long betting history, spanning all the way back to decades ago, before World War II. In 1946, betting in Brazil was already a popular activity, which gathered momentum at lightning speed. This prompted the authorities to enact the so-called Criminal Contravention Act.

The law sought to ban all unregulated betting activities in the country, shaking the nation's entire gambling scene to the core. Yet, the government of Brazil did not anticipate online betting. After all, who expected such a dramatic transformation to the world of betting back then?

In the early 2000s, the writing was already on the wall that the internet would take over the world. In fact, online gambling became a hot topic in the country, since the Brazilian government did not have a mechanism to prevent citizens from betting online.

As such, a bill would be passed to outlaw online gambling. Did it succeed? Not really. With internet usage spreading so fast, this turned out to be an exercise in futility. Besides, Brazil is still a developing country, so they did not have enough resources to invest in the technology to prevent people from gambling online.

The government of Brazil would later make another ineffective attempt to ban online gambling sites in 2009. The move failed terribly, but the government did not stop there. Another failed attempt involved prohibiting payment processors from transacting with online gaming platforms in 2010.

Temporary Reprieve

Thanks to the World Cup, this ban on online gambling was temporarily lifted in 2014. The Brazilian authorities saw this as a lucrative event that would generate lots of revenue. At that time, Brazilians were allowed to bet on sports and lotteries offered by Caixa Economica, a government-owned financial institution.

Today, online gambling legislative matters in the country are still under review, and that's why no bookie is allowed to operate in the country's territory legally. However, looking at a series of failed attempts by the government of Brazil on banning sports betting, Brazilians can rest assured the future of betting in their country is bright. First of all, the country has a population of just over 212 million (as of 2022). That's a huge market that any sports betting provider would want to target.

While there are already hundreds of bookmakers rendering their services to Brazilians, the number is expected to rise exponentially as technology becomes better and better (cryptos, mobile gaming, etc.). Besides, Brazilians love sports, especially football, so trying to prevent them from betting on their favorite sport does not resonate with them at all. With a proper gambling regulatory mechanism, the Brazilian authorities can allow their citizens to legally and safely bet online in the near future.

Looking down memory lane, Brazil has had a number of betting acts, most of which were enacted to prevent gambling. The most important piece of these legislations is the Criminal Contravention Act of 1946, which outlawed all gambling operators and games of chance in the country.

Anyone found breaking this Act is subject to a fine or jail term of up to one year. In this Act, the games of chance are defined as any game in which punters have no control over the outcome. That means the outcome is purely luck-determined.

Having looked at the above Act, it is important to look at other Acts as well. Here is a summary of some of the most important ones:

Law No. 7,291

This law was passed in 1984 to allow Brazilians to place bets on horse racing. However, the law does not allow punters to bet wherever they like. There are designated betting agencies and racetracks. The agencies that take bets on horse racing events pay fees to the government of Brazil.

Bill 671/2015

Also known as MP Football, this bill was passed in 2015 to provide for the establishment of new gambling products and lotteries. This was following a surge in demand for legal sports betting (following the 2014 World Cup). However, the country's president at the time (Dilma) rejected part of the bill that sought to allow online gambling.

Law No. 13,756

This is perhaps the latest gambling law to be passed in the country, having been ratified only in Dec, 2018. It aimed to legalize fixed-odds sports betting. In ensuring proper implementation of this law, the Brazilian government mandated the Ministry of Economy to develop regulatory mechanisms within four years. Once this law is fully implemented, Brazilians can expect to witness a total revolution in the country's gambling industry.