The expenses of Brazilians on online games and bets, known as "bets," reached approximately US$ 11.1 billion between January and November last year, equivalent to R$ 54 billion.
This approximate value corresponds to remittances made to companies in the sector operating abroad. The estimate was made by Folha based on the most recent statistics released by the Central Bank.
Although other operations are recorded in the same balance of payments account, the disaggregation of data allows for an approximate calculation of the volume paid in transactions involving games and bets.
The total amount of resources in the 11-month period is greater, for example, than the amount generated by Brazilian beef exports in the entire year of 2023. Sales of the product reached US$ 9.5 billion (R$ 46.3 billion) last year, according to the Secretariat of Foreign Trade (Secex), linked to the Ministry of Development, Industry, Commerce, and Services (Mdic).
The country is one of the largest exporters of beef in the world. Of the total spent by Brazilians on foreign betting sites, approximately US$ 8.9 billion (R$ 43.3 billion) corresponds to funds transferred to be shared among the winners—the amount wagered by players. Another US$ 2.2 billion (R$ 10.7 billion) refers to the service fee retained by the sites operating the bets. Since 2018, following a law passed during the government of Michel Temer (MDB), the offer of sports betting sites ("bets") has been allowed in Brazil. Subsequently, advertisements from the sector have dominated open TV, especially during football games.