How to Launch an Online Casino in Brazil (2026): Licence, Cost &

Updated 2026-07-30 · Author: Michael Torres, iGaming Industry Analyst

Brazil regulated online casino under Law 14.790/2023; the federal market went live on 1 January 2025.

Launching an online casino in Brazil now means one thing: hold a federal authorisation from the Secretaria de Prêmios e Apostas (SPA) and run the brand on a .bet.br domain, or stay out. Brazil spent 2024 building a licensing regime and switched the regulated market on at the start of 2025, so the country is no longer an open grey market where offshore operators could accept Brazilian players without local approval. The upside is one of the largest addressable player bases in the Americas. The cost of entry is a grant fee reported around R$30 million for up to three brands and a compliance stack built around Pix, the CPF national identity number, and mandatory identity checks. This guide walks an operator through the legality, the licence, the real cost, and the launch sequence.

Key facts (verify current rules with the SPA)

Legal since: Law 14.790/2023 regulated fixed-odds betting and online casino; the federal market went live 1 January 2025.

Regulator: Secretaria de Prêmios e Apostas (SPA), Ministério da Fazenda, via the SIGAP platform.

Grant fee: reported around R$30 million for a 5-year authorisation covering up to 3 brands.

Tax: roughly 12% GGR at launch, scheduled to rise to 13% (2026), 14% (2027), 15% (2028), plus corporate and other taxes.

Local entity: Brazilian-incorporated company with a minimum 20% Brazilian shareholding.

Payments and domain: Pix is the dominant rail; CPF-based KYC with facial recognition; licensed sites run on .bet.br.

This is editorial guidance, not legal advice; confirm current rules with the regulator and a licensed gaming lawyer.

Is online gambling legal in Brazil?

Yes, online casino and fixed-odds betting are legal in Brazil when the operator holds a federal authorisation. Law 14.790/2023, widely called the “Bets Law,” regulated fixed-odds betting and online casino games (“jogos de azar online” delivered as fixed-odds products), and the regulated market opened on 1 January 2025. Before that, Brazilians could reach offshore sites, but that was a tolerated grey zone, not a licensed market. What changed is enforcement plus a hard technical marker: legal operators now sit on .bet.br domains, and sites outside that regime are treated as unlicensed. Land-based casinos remain a separate and mostly prohibited category, so this page is strictly about the online, fixed-odds framework. Rules kept moving through 2024 and 2025, so treat any single figure here as a starting point and verify the current SPA ordinances before committing capital.

How operators launch in Brazil: local licence vs the old offshore route

The only compliant path in 2026 is a federal SPA authorisation held by a Brazilian company; the offshore route that many brands used before 2025 is now the risky one. For years, operators served Brazil from Curaçao or Malta licences without any Brazilian approval, marketing in Portuguese and settling in local currency. That worked because there was no domestic regulator to say no. Now there is. The SPA licenses operators, and payment providers, media, and app stores increasingly gate access to authorised .bet.br brands. An operator can still be a foreign group, but the licence holder must be a locally incorporated entity, and the consumer-facing brand must run inside the Brazilian regime. The offshore-only model has not vanished, but it is being squeezed, and it exposes the operator to payment cut-offs and enforcement. If you are weighing a lighter-touch entry point elsewhere while you build, our licensing guide and Curaçao vs MGA breakdown cover the alternatives.

What licence you need

You need a federal authorisation (“autorização”) from the SPA, granted through the Ministério da Fazenda and administered on the SIGAP platform. This is a single federal regime, not a state-by-state patchwork, which simplifies the map compared with the United States. Core conditions reported under Law 14.790 and its ordinances include a Brazilian-incorporated company, a minimum 20% Brazilian shareholding, financial reserves and audited statements, and technical certification of games and platform. The authorisation runs five years and can cover up to three brands under one grant. Applications go through SIGAP with documentation on ownership, integrity, technical standards, and responsible gambling controls. The official regulator is the Secretaria de Prêmios e Apostas. If you are researching the historical offshore route many operators used before regulation, our Curaçao casino licence page explains that model and why it no longer substitutes for a Brazilian authorisation.

Cost to launch in Brazil

Budget for the R$30 million grant fee first, then layer platform, compliance, payments, and marketing on top; Brazil is a capital-heavy market by design. The federal grant fee is reported at around R$30 million (roughly USD 5 to 6 million depending on the rate) for the five-year, three-brand authorisation, and that figure alone screens out undercapitalised entrants. On top of the licence you carry the cost of a locally incorporated entity, GLI or equivalent certification, a platform, a Pix-first payment stack, Portuguese-language 24/7 support, and a marketing budget that clears an increasingly restricted advertising environment. A white-label or turnkey platform keeps your technology spend predictable versus a custom build; our white-label casino cost breakdown lays out those tiers. To model whether Brazil’s tax and fee load leaves room for profit at your expected GGR, run the numbers through the break-even calculator before you sign anything. The grant fee is a barrier, not a guarantee; you still need volume to justify it.

Step by step: launching in Brazil

Launching in Brazil follows a fixed sequence: incorporate, apply, certify, integrate payments, then market. The order matters because each step gates the next.

Incorporate locally. Form a Brazilian company meeting the ownership and shareholding conditions, with the required capital and reserves in place.
Prepare the SPA application. Assemble ownership, integrity, financial, and technical documentation for submission through SIGAP.
Certify the platform and games. Obtain testing-lab certification (GLI or equivalent) for RNG, games, and platform against Brazilian technical standards.
Secure the authorisation and .bet.br domain. On grant, stand up the brand on a .bet.br domain; this is the visible marker of a licensed site.
Integrate Pix and CPF-based KYC. Wire in Pix, debit rails, CPF verification, and facial-recognition onboarding, and register with the centralised self-exclusion system.
Localise and launch. Ship Brazilian Portuguese content, local support, and advertising that complies with the current SPA rules, then go live.

Our broader how to launch an online casino pillar covers the operational detail behind each of these steps.

Payments and localisation for Brazil

Pix is the centre of gravity for payments in Brazil, and CPF binds every account to a verified identity. Pix, the central bank’s instant-payment system, is the dominant deposit and withdrawal rail, and players expect it as default. Credit cards are reported as banned for betting deposits, so plan around Pix, debit, and bank transfer. Every player account is tied to a CPF, the national taxpayer number, and funds must move from accounts registered to that same verified CPF. KYC is not a checkbox: the framework requires CPF verification plus facial recognition against a live selfie at onboarding, so document-only sign-up is not enough. On localisation, Brazilian Portuguese is mandatory, not optional, and free 24/7 Portuguese-language support is a licensing expectation. Game content should lean into what Brazilian players actually play, with crash games, popular slots, and live dealer tables high on the list. Get the payment and identity layer right and the rest of localisation is manageable.

Taxes and ongoing obligations

Plan for roughly 12% GGR tax at launch, a rate scheduled to climb, plus standard corporate taxes and continuous compliance duties. The reported GGR tax was around 12% when the market opened, with legislation signed at the end of 2025 stepping it up to 13% in 2026, 14% in 2027, and 15% from 2028; verify the rate that applies in your launch year. On top of GGR tax you carry corporate income tax and other federal levies, so model the full stack, not just the headline rate. Ongoing obligations include audited financials and reserves, AML and KYC reporting, integration with the centralised self-exclusion platform, responsible-gambling tooling, and adherence to advertising rules that tightened through 2025 and 2026. Brazil has moved to restrict aggressive promotion, including limits around sign-up bonuses and certain broadcast and urgency-based advertising tactics, so build marketing plans against current rules rather than last year’s playbook.

Risks and red flags ⚠️

The biggest risk is treating Brazil as the old grey market; the regulated regime punishes shortcuts. Watch these red flags:

Operating offshore-only. Serving Brazilian players without an SPA authorisation exposes you to enforcement, payment cut-offs, and loss of .bet.br access.
Underestimating capital. The R$30 million grant fee plus certification, reserves, and marketing means Brazil is not a low-budget entry.
Weak KYC. Skipping CPF binding or facial recognition is a compliance failure, not an optimisation.
Credit-card and crypto assumptions. Credit-card deposits are reported as banned; do not architect payments around them.
Stale advertising tactics. Bonus-heavy and urgency-based promotion is being restricted; aggressive campaigns invite penalties.
Moving-target rules. Fees, tax rates, and ordinances have shifted; verify every figure with the SPA and local counsel before committing.

Best platforms to launch in Brazil

The strongest fits for Brazil are providers with live Brazilian operations, GLI-grade certification, and sportsbook or PAM depth. Provider choice should follow your product: sportsbook-led, casino-led, or a hybrid.

Digitain is a strong fit because it is sportsbook-first and positions itself as Brazil-ready, useful if a betting-plus-casino hybrid is your play.
Pragmatic Solutions is a strong fit for its PAM platform and GLI-grade certification pedigree, which aligns with Brazil’s technical-standards demands.
SoftSwiss is a strong fit thanks to an active LatAm presence and a large game catalogue that suits casino-led launches.
BetConstruct is a strong fit for sportsbook-heavy operators with LatAm ambitions and an integrated platform.

None of these should be assumed to hold a specific Brazilian authorisation on your behalf; confirm each provider’s current SPA standing directly. Compare them side by side on certification, payments, and pricing in our provider comparison, and see how we score them in the methodology.

Frequently asked questions

Is online casino legal in Brazil?

Yes, when the operator holds a federal SPA authorisation. Law 14.790/2023 regulated fixed-odds betting and online casino, and the licensed market opened on 1 January 2025. Sites without a Brazilian authorisation and a .bet.br domain are treated as unlicensed. Verify current rules with the regulator.

How much does a Brazil casino licence cost?

The federal grant fee is reported at around R$30 million for a five-year authorisation covering up to three brands. On top of that you fund a local entity, certification, payments, support, and marketing. Confirm the current fee with the SPA, since figures have changed since regulation began.

Who regulates online casinos in Brazil?

The Secretaria de Prêmios e Apostas (SPA), a body within the Ministério da Fazenda (Ministry of Finance), created to implement Law 14.790. Applications and oversight run through its SIGAP platform. It is the single federal regulator for fixed-odds betting and online games.

What is the tax on online gambling in Brazil?

The GGR tax was reported at around 12% when the market opened, with a scheduled increase to 13% in 2026, 14% in 2027, and 15% from 2028, plus corporate and other taxes. Verify the rate for your launch year, as the schedule was set by legislation signed at the end of 2025.

Do I need a local company to launch in Brazil?

Yes. The authorisation holder must be a Brazilian-incorporated entity, reported to require a minimum 20% Brazilian shareholding, along with financial reserves and audited statements. A foreign group can own the business, but the licensed operator sits inside the Brazilian regime.

Can I use my Curaçao licence for Brazil?

No, a Curaçao licence does not authorise you to serve Brazilian players in the regulated market. That was the pre-2025 offshore route, which is now being squeezed by enforcement and payment gating. You need a federal SPA authorisation to operate compliantly on a .bet.br domain.