More than 3,500 people lost jobs since Brazil betting ban

A report by the National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL), published on October 7, claims that more than 3,500 jobs had been lost since the president announced betting on September 25. The association reports of 4,167 workers on collective leave and expects the number of dismissals to reach 5,600 within 90 days. At the moment of the report publications, the figures are based on operators and service providers data. The number of the companies responded to ANJL survey is not disclosed. How ANJL calculated the figures ANJL has requested input from operators and service providers, which is gathered through submission of a form. 23% of the workforce respondents have been dismissed from their jobs, with 28% having gone on collective leave during the same period. HR teams estimate the percentage of job losses in the next three months to reach 37%. The total number of respondents to be roughly 15,000 people. ANJL estimated the number of people dismissed to be around 3,500 and those on leave around 4,167. According to Amig a minimum of 36 out of Brazil’s 188 licensed gambling brands had already started unemployment by October 5. H2Bet fired 170 employees out of 270. Rivalo terminated almost all of its approximately 100 employees. Rei do Pitaco laid off 40 out of around 100 employees and offered another 30 collective leave. Job cuts do not only hit gambling operators. Alob Sports, an event and influencer marketing agency that cooperates with Betano has also cut the number of staff. As Tunad, a media monitoring company, states, gambling operators spent R$1.82 billion on media in H1 2026. Job impact is not estimated The Brazilian authorities have yet to release any information concerning the ban’s effect on employment. ANJL and IBJR have pointed out to the Supreme Federal Court that the Ministry of Finance had indicated that it had no studies that would provide an estimation on the impact an employment ban would have on jobs. ANJL mentions that it will publish consolidated employment data after the processing of the survey.