Cade has cleared three large-scale mergers in the iGaming sector as smaller licensed operators fight a financial battle to surpass the estimated viability floor of R$5m in monthly revenue.
Currently, a group of just 10 operators already accounts for more than 67% of Brazil’s regulated market, leaving a trail of accelerated consolidation among the 187 authorized platforms in the country.
According to Plínio Lemos, president of the National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL), most smaller brands are unable to reach the financial volume needed for operational survival.
“The company can’t make the numbers work when you factor in the government’s 12% tax rate, the regular tax burden, payroll, and the investment needed to keep acquiring users,” said Lemos.
The intense mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity is directly reflected in the antitrust regulator’s records. Flutter Entertainment, Betfair’s parent company, paid R$3.8bn for a 56% stake in Betnacional.
In another move, Ana Gaming, owner of the Bet7K and Cassino Bet brands, acquired control of Donald Bet and Bet Ponto Bet, in a transaction approved by Cade, the value of which was not disclosed by the company.
Ana Gaming’s CEO, Marco Tulio Oliveira, did not comment on the transaction’s value.
On the other hand, Grupo Globo and MGM Resorts International consolidated their joint operation in the country under the BetMGM banner. Through Boa Lion, the joint venture, which also includes a stake held by TV host Luciano Huck’s holding company, acquired the platform Bingão do Brasil.
Defaults and the search for buyers
The financial pressure is even more evident at the base of the sector’s pyramid. São Paulo-based Alfa Bet, which holds roughly 0.1% of the market, has accumulated nearly R$90m in legal claims after defaulting on sponsorship contracts with the football clubs Grêmio and Internacional.
The company’s founder and chief operating officer, Matheus Antunes, confirmed that the platform is seeking a buyer to stem the crisis.
“We are conducting negotiations aimed at transferring the operation to a new investor group, with the goal of ensuring business continuity and the proper settlement of obligations to creditors,” Antunes stated.
Bettor protection rules
Although the government’s rules attempt to protect the market by requiring companies to segregate players’ funds and maintain a R$5 million guarantee, the closure of smaller operators will be the first real test of these safeguards.
Industry lawyers explain that, by law, bettors’ balances cannot be touched even if the platform goes bankrupt. However, in practice, no licensed betting operator has yet gone bankrupt in Brazil.
According to Fabiano Jantalia, president of the OAB’s Gaming Law Commission and founding partner at Jantalia Advogados, the asset segregation requirement set out in Law No. 14,790/2023 is legally robust: “it incorporates mechanisms already tested in other sectors, such as asset segregation (‘patrimônio de afetação’) in the real estate market and the payment institutions regime, and grants bettors a privileged position in the event of bankruptcy or judicial reorganization.”
In practice, this means the funds can be recovered through a simple refund request, without the need for formal credit registration in the proceedings.
However, the specialist himself acknowledges the limits: if the funds have already left the protected structure due to mismanagement or fraudulent conduct, the legal mechanism will not automatically recover them.
If an operator wrongfully appropriates these funds, its managers may be held liable for embezzlement, in addition to regulatory, civil, and administrative violations. “We went as far as legislatively possible,” Fabiano Jantalia notes, cautioning that no legal mechanism is immune to fraudulent practices.
For ANJL’s leadership, the consolidation of Brazil’s ecosystem is an irreversible technical trend. “If you don’t have scale, you can’t make the numbers work,” Lemos concluded.