Brazil already has 2,212 betting companies registered in the national corporate registry, although the number of registrations authorized to operate represents only 3.5% of that total, according to a survey by the data company BigData Corp.
Over the past three years, the number of corporate registrations (CNPJs) whose main activity is operating in the gambling and online betting market — CNAE code 9200-3/99 — has grown by more than 150%.
According to a list published on the Ministry of Finance’s website and updated through April, 69 unique CNPJs are authorized to operate in the online betting market in the country, representing 153 brands and 149 internet domains (bet.br).
Each CNPJ can operate up to three brands. The number of CNPJs rises to 78 when including companies that obtained authorization through preliminary court decisions.
This gap between the number of authorized companies and the total CNPJs highlights the appetite of the market — both local and global — to operate in Brazil, says BigData Corp CEO Thoran Rodrigues. "The licensing process is slow, but it starts with the opening of a CNPJ," states Rodrigues.
Together, these companies declare a combined share capital of R$12 billion — which, with a simple calculation, averages about R$5 million (US$880,000) per company.
To obtain a national license, a company needs more than R$30 million (US$5.3m), which is the price of the license to operate in the country. However, state licenses are much more accessible, with prices varying by state.
CNPJs registered in São Paulo concentrate 64% of the total capital, while the average capital per company is highest in the Federal District: R$19.1 million (US$3.35m) per CNPJ. This higher share capital in these two locations indicates national ambitions for these companies. Meanwhile, the North and Northeast regions account for almost 40% of the corporate registrations with a betting-related CNAE.
This share is double the two regions' combined representation in the total volume of CNPJs nationwide (19.4%). "On one hand, it's positive because it presents an opportunity for growth in the technology sector; on the other, we know that this is a market driven by the exploitation of lower-income populations," says Rodrigues.
A significant portion of these CNPJs are local branches of foreign betting companies. Among the companies registered to operate as betting businesses, the number of CNPJs declaring their headquarters abroad is three times higher than in the overall CNPJ database.
Another factor explaining the strong growth in CNPJs is that many companies are preparing to eventually operate under a white-label model, "renting" the structure of authorized companies.
This model became popular with fintechs and virtual mobile operators, allowing associations and football clubs to have their "own" banks and telecom providers.
The number of CNPJs registered to operate in gambling was just 96 in February 2020 and surged during the pandemic: by the end of 2021, there were already 837. In three years, the volume grew by 153%, reaching 2,113. Since the beginning of this year, another 99 CNPJs have been added to the database.
Source: UOL Economia – Column by Mariana Barbosa
