Between 14 and 19 February, a sequence of developments in Brazil signalled something more significant than regulatory routine.

The country has entered the same post-legalisation political cycle already observed across mature European gambling jurisdictions — the social impact phase.

After market opening comes expansion.
After expansion comes scrutiny.

Courts, Congress and federal regulators are now acting simultaneously around a shared concern: exposure and harm mitigation.

For operators and investors, this stage historically reshapes business models more than taxation or licensing ever did.

Italy (2018), Spain (2020), the Netherlands (2022) and the UK affordability debate all followed this pattern roughly 12–36 months after market regulation.

Brazil has reached it faster due to scale, media visibility and political salience.

Courts move first: responsible gambling becomes interface architecture

The most immediate operational impact came from the judiciary.

A state court in Goiás ordered 251 licensed operators to prominently display addiction-risk warnings before bet placement.

The mandatory message references anxiety, depression and over-indebtedness, effectively transforming responsible gambling messaging from compliance disclosure into a functional UX barrier.

This matters beyond the state itself.

Brazil’s gambling framework is federal, but consumer protection enforcement is state-driven. Public prosecutors frequently replicate precedents across jurisdictions, meaning obligations can propagate faster through litigation than through regulation.

For operators, this introduces a new risk category: conversion liability.

Any mechanism designed to reduce impulsive betting inherently affects conversion metrics.
The business model must therefore reconcile behavioural friction with revenue optimisation.

This mirrors developments seen in European markets where interface design — not licensing — became the primary regulatory battleground.

Congress targets advertising — and therefore channelisation

While courts addressed player protection, the Senate advanced legislation restricting betting advertising across television, radio, press, social media, sponsorships and promotional campaigns, with penalties including multimillion-dollar fines and potential licence consequences.

In gambling regulation, taxation rarely determines operator viability.

Visibility does.

Brazil’s regulatory logic depends on channelisation: migrating consumers from offshore operators to licensed platforms.

Channelisation requires awareness, and awareness requires marketing.

The economic implications are predictable:

• rising customer acquisition cost (CAC)
• shrinking affiliate ecosystems
• weaker brand differentiation
• improved competitiveness of illegal operators

This dynamic has precedent.

Following Italy’s Decreto Dignità advertising ban, affiliate activity collapsed and offshore presence strengthened.

Spain experienced similar effects among younger demographics after Royal Decree 958/2020.

Brazil now faces the same structural tension:
public policy seeks reduced exposure, while regulated markets require controlled visibility to function.

Sports financing becomes political leverage

The advertising debate has introduced a secondary policy argument: sports funding.

Industry executives warn that reduced marketing capacity and constrained odds competitiveness may lower betting volume and therefore tax transfers and sponsorship revenue to sports organisations.

This represents a narrative reversal.

During legalisation debates, betting was justified as a mechanism to finance sport.
Now sport is used as an argument against over-restriction.

The political discussion has shifted from fiscal optimism to economic trade-offs — a transition typical of markets moving from expansion to stabilisation. 

Federal government confirms long-term supervision

The Ministry of Finance, through the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting, published its 2026–2027 regulatory agenda prioritising:

• revision of licensing criteria
• lottery operational rules
• enforcement and monitoring procedures
• payment blocking mechanisms
• responsible gambling tools
• oversight of influencers and affiliates

The conceptual shift is crucial.

Brazil is moving from regulating operators to regulating ecosystems.

Further, platforms, media partners, marketing agencies, affiliates and payment channels become enforcement targets.

This marks the transition from market creation to market supervision — a defining milestone in regulatory maturity.

Competition increases as commercial freedom narrows

At the same moment regulation tightens, the number of licensed operators exceeds roughly 180 platforms.

This produces a classic newly regulated market paradox:

More competitors entering precisely when commercial flexibility declines.

The usual outcome is consolidation.

Smaller operators depend on aggressive acquisition strategies and bonus-driven growth, both incompatible with advertising limits and rising compliance costs.

Larger operators with brand equity and media partnerships absorb market share.

Growth therefore continues — but viability narrows.

Narrative shift: from revenue opportunity to social risk

The most important change is rhetorical rather than legal.

Legalisation was framed around taxation, formalisation and sports funding.
Current public discourse focuses on addiction, indebtedness and youth exposure.

Public policy follows perception cycles:

Basically, Brazilian institutions now align around the second stage.
Courts emphasise mental health, legislators visibility, regulators supervision.

Such alignment historically precedes durable regulatory tightening rather than temporary intervention.

What this means for international stakeholders

Brazil remains one of the largest global betting opportunities.
However, the operating logic is changing.

The market is transitioning from:

• acquisition-driven growth → retention-driven growth
• marketing scale → brand legitimacy
• speed → compliance resilience

International operators often interpret this phase as instability.
Historically, it signals maturation.

Across Europe, long-term profitability emerged only after this stage forced operators to adapt operational discipline, customer lifetime value strategies and media partnerships.

Conclusion: legitimacy replaces entry as the main barrier

The developments of mid-February did not introduce a single transformative rule.
They created institutional convergence.

Judiciary, legislature and executive authorities are reacting to the same concern: the social footprint of betting.

The first phase of Brazil’s regulated market determined who could enter.
The second will determine how they may operate.

The industry is no longer negotiating access.
It is negotiating legitimacy.

And in regulated gambling markets, legitimacy — more than licensing — ultimately defines sustainable profitability.

Betnacional launches culturally-driven communication platform in Brazil

Additionally, Betnacional has unveiled a new communication platform called “Bota essa paixão pra jogo” (“Put that passion into play”), aimed at strengthening brand relevance and engagement among Brazilian sports fans during a period of heightened global football attention.

Developed in partnership with creative agency Galeria.ag, the platform is built around a cultural understanding of how Brazilian fans experience sport — characterized by emotional intensity, active participation and a uniquely expressive approach to cheering.

The campaign is designed to run through the first half of 2026.

Alvaro Garcia, Chief Marketing Officer of Flutter Brazil, explained that the strategy deliberately taps into football’s deep cultural presence in Brazil, noting that nearly half of the population watches at least one match per week — a statistic that underscores the sport’s daily relevance.

According to internal Betnacional research, 60% of sports bettors place bets three or more times per week, with that figure rising to 69% among users who combine sports wagering with other betting formats. These behavioural insights helped guide the creative direction of the campaign.

The initiative includes multi-channel activations across TV, digital platforms and out-of-home (OOH) formats, with short creative pieces designed to resonate both in traditional media and social environments.

The campaign’s creative approach reflects Brazil’s football culture, often blending humor with emotional storytelling to portray fan passion as a natural extension of everyday life.

According to Ricardo Schreier, Head of Brand Creative & Insights at Flutter Brazil, the platform serves as a “fertile territory for building narratives” that creatively translate cultural behaviour into consistent brand expression.

This campaign also marks the first major work of Galeria.ag in its role as lead agency for both Betnacional and Betfair in Brazil — a position the agency assumed at the end of 2025 as part of Flutter Brazil’s integrated strategy combining planning, market intelligence and creative execution

SCCG Management announced a strategic partnership with +55 Business Solutions, establishing a collaborative framework designed to support the structured growth of Brazil’s newly regulated betting and iGaming market.

As Brazil advances its federal regulatory framework for online betting and gaming, operators, suppliers, investors, and media groups are navigating one of the most significant emerging regulated markets in the world. The partnership between SCCG and +55 aligns global gaming infrastructure with Brazilian regulatory insight to help companies enter and scale within the market responsibly and strategically.

Founded by Stephen A. Crystal, SCCG Management brings more than three decades of experience advising tribal and commercial gaming operators, sportsbooks, iGaming platforms, payment providers, compliance companies, and technology innovators across North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. SCCG’s ecosystem includes over 130 client-partners spanning best-in-class solutions in payments, AML and KYC verification, geolocation, fraud prevention, CRM and loyalty systems, sports data and analytics, content aggregation, risk management, sponsorship activation, and capital markets advisory.

Through this strategic partnership, Brazilian operators and suppliers will benefit from coordinated access to global advisory expertise, international distribution channels, and proven technology relationships, combined with localized regulatory navigation and operational structuring expertise.

+55 Business Solutions, led by Founder and CEO Bellity Cruz, is based in Salvador, Bahia, and specializes in Revenue Operations (RevOps), international trade strategy, governance structuring, and digital transformation. With academic foundations in Social Communication and postgraduate specialization in Foreign Trade and International Marketing, complemented by an MBA in Business Management and in Financial Administration, Digital Innovation, and Fintechs, Cruz has built +55 around the principle of transforming ambitious expansion strategies into structured, compliant, and measurable growth systems.

The partnership is structured to collectively provide services including regulatory navigation and licensing strategy guidance, operational governance frameworks, revenue structuring, vendor acceleration, business development facilitation, capital advisory, intellectual property evaluation, bjand long-term strategic positioning within Brazil’s regulated environment.

Rather than approaching Brazil as a short-term opportunity, SCCG and +55 are focused on building disciplined foundations for sustainable growth. The collaboration emphasizes governance before scale, predictability before aggressive expansion, and structured compliance aligned with Brazil’s evolving national oversight.

“Brazil represents one of the most important emerging regulated gaming markets globally,” said Stephen A. Crystal, Founder and CEO of SCCG Management. “By combining SCCG’s global expertise and our 130+ client-partner ecosystem with +55’s deep understanding of Brazil’s regulatory and commercial landscape, we are creating a powerful alignment between international best practices and local market intelligence. Our goal is to support responsible expansion and long-term value creation in Brazil.”

“Too many international operators confuse market entry with market presence in Brazil launching localized content while lacking the regulatory infrastructure, cultural intelligence, and operational discipline required to compete sustainably,” said Bellity, Founder of +55 Business Solutions. “By partnering with SCCG Management, we’re combining their 130+ client-partner ecosystem and global regulatory expertise with +55’s on-the-ground intelligence and institutional relationships to deliver what the market actually demands: compliance architecture, process maturity, and strategic positioning before commercial acceleration. Our goal is to ensure operators build for longevity, not just launch, because in Brazil’s evolving regulatory environment, shortcuts don’t create value, they create exposure.”

The formation of this partnership also reflects SCCG’s continued investment in emerging markets and next-generation leadership within the gaming industry. By aligning with a Brazilian-founded firm led by Bellity Cruz, SCCG reinforces its commitment to empowering rising leaders and advancing women executives who are shaping the future of regulated gaming.

As Brazil’s betting and iGaming market continues to formalize under federal regulation, companies entering the jurisdiction must balance opportunity with operational discipline and compliance rigor. The strategic partnership between SCCG and +55 is positioned to serve as a trusted bridge between global gaming infrastructure and Brazil’s dynamic regulatory landscape.

About +55 Business Solutions

+55 Business Solutions is a Brazil-based advisory firm focused on Revenue Operations, international trade expansion, governance structuring, and digital innovation. The firm specializes in aligning strategic vision with compliant, scalable execution across regulated and cross-border markets.

Matheus Araujo – Product Manager, +55 Business Solutions

An economist from Universidade Salvador with an MBA in Software Engineering from FIAP, Matheus Araujo is the architect behind the revenue operations at +55 Business Solutions.

Founder of Skoolab and a specialist in startup structuring, Araujo integrates neurobusiness principles and process engineering to turn expansion strategies into predictable and auditable growth systems.

Our focus is to build a structure where governance and revenue move together, ensuring that the entry of new businesses into Brazil and LATAM is carried out on a solid, technology-driven foundation that is, above all, sustainable in the long term.

+55’s perspective on the partnership

The Brazilian iGaming market is at a decisive moment: those who arrive first with the right structure win. However, expansion alone is not enough, it is essential to intelligently assess whether the operation truly makes sense for the region.

Our partnership with SCCG Management brings together the best of global technology with our local regulatory intelligence. We are ready to enable businesses that generate jobs and innovation, ensuring that quality and technical rigor guide every step of this strategic expansion in Brazil.

We do not believe in shortcuts. We believe in early-stage evaluation methods and in an elite partner network. With SCCG and the strategic support of companies such as MWbank, AXM Services, and CSMV Advogados, among others, we deliver a complete ecosystem that ensures those who enter Brazil do so to stay and to create real, lasting value. We hope the market is ready for what we are capable of achieving together.

About SCCG Management

SCCG Management is a leading advisory firm in the global gaming industry, dedicated to driving strategic growth and maximizing revenue for over 130 client-partners across diverse iGaming verticals. With offices in North America, Latin America, Africa, Asia, Europe, and Brazil, our team of seasoned industry executives leverages global relationships to enhance product distribution and seize new market opportunities. With over 30 years of experience, we specialize in navigating the complexities of tribal gaming, capitalizing on emerging markets, fostering igaming innovations, managing intellectual property, facilitating mergers and acquisitions, and advancing sports wagering and entertainment ventures.