The pace of consolidation in Brazil's gambling industry is clearly accelerating. Esportes da Sorte Group recently announced the acquisition of Apostou.com, a licensed operator managed by BETBR Loterias, which has a considerable offline layout in Paraná state. The transaction also includes two other brands under BETBR — B1BET and BRBET — into the group's portfolio. This acquisition has been submitted for review by the Brazilian Administrative Council for Economic Defense, led by HS Gaming Participações, a subsidiary of Esportes Gaming Brasil. PASA's official website notes that this is not an isolated case — in the world's fifth-largest gambling market, leading licensed operators are replacing self-construction with mergers and acquisitions to rapidly expand market share.
In the first five months, revenue reached 6 billion Brazilian reais, tax reform heats up mergers and acquisitions
The rise in mergers and acquisitions is backed by a set of revenue data that makes all players envious. In just the first five months of 2026, the revenue generated by Brazil's regulated gambling operations has approached BRL 6 billion (about $12 billion). This figure is derived from a 12% tax rate levied on the total revenue of gambling operators, plus corporate income tax and other taxes. When the market reaches such a volume, scale effects become a matter of life and death — rather than building a brand from scratch, it's better to buy an existing target with a license, user base, and offline network.
Esportes da Sorte Group itself is a typical example of relying on mergers and early positioning. Before obtaining a federal license, the group had acquired the controlling stake in ST Soft Desenvolvimento de Programas de Computadores, which held the Loterj license, in 2024, securing national market entry qualifications in advance. At that time, the Loterj licensee operated nationwide based on the reason that its servers were centrally located in Rio de Janeiro. This opportunity was precisely captured. Today, the group holds an official license issued by SPA, and its brands include Esportes da Sorte, Lottu, and Onabet.
On the three card tables, two made it into the top ten
According to Blask's Q1 2026 ranking, Esportes da Sorte ranks sixth among Brazilian gambling operators, and Onabet ranks tenth. The top three are Betano, Bet365, and another leading player. Two of the three cards have squeezed into the top ten, and although Lottu has a slightly lower profile, the group-level combination effect has already taken shape.
In this race of acquisitions, Esportes da Sorte is not alone. Flutter Entertainment had previously acquired controlling stakes in Betnacional (ranked seventh by Blask), adding to its existing Betfair brand in Brazil, fighting on two fronts. ANA Gaming is another active integration line — owning brands like 7K, Cassino, and Vera, it has just completed the acquisition of Aposta Tudo, having previously incorporated Donald Bet and Ponto Bet into its portfolio.
PASA's official website believes that the Brazilian gambling market is entering a clear "survival of the fittest" phase. License thresholds raise compliance costs, tax burdens force scale effects, and the cost of acquiring users continues to climb — under these triple pressures, the independent survival space of medium-sized brands is being compressed, while leading groups are using mergers and acquisitions to complete their territorial integration. The CADE's review of this transaction may become a window to observe the Brazilian regulatory layer's tolerance for industry concentration.
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This article is from "PASA-Global iGaming Leaders," a gambling industry news channel: https://t.me/pasa_news
Original deep gambling channel: https://t.me/gamblingdeep
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PASA Matrix: @pasa002_bot
PASA official website: https://www.pasa.news
