Betting firms spent USD 419m on TV in Brazil between 2025 and 2026

Betting companies spent BRL 2,120 million (USD 419 million) on advertising on free-to-air and pay television between January 2025 and June 2026, according to a media intelligence survey by Tunad published by BNLData. The data also show that between January and August 2026 operators had already spent BRL 542.4 million (USD 107.3 million) on free-to-air TV alone.

Volume and concentration of spend

The sector led the medium’s advertiser ranking in five of the eight months analysed by Tunad. Spend in the segment was highly concentrated: the ten largest companies accounted for 94.2% of the sector’s television investment during the analysed period, and the top two absorbed 40% of the advertising budget. Among those top ten advertisers, 93.1% of the funds allocated to TV went to free-to-air television.

Effects of the ban and earlier decline

Provisional Measure 1.394/2026, which imposes a ban on betting advertising, interrupted the sector’s advertising presence on Brazilian television. Tunad notes that the reduction in spending began before the measure took effect: in comparable 39-day periods after the World Cup, betting companies’ TV advertising spend fell 34.5%, from BRL 234.2 million (USD 46.4 million) to BRL 153.5 million (USD 30.4 million).

After the ban broadcasters began suspending ads and reviewing commercial contracts with operators. Globo, Band and ESPN were among the companies affected by the withdrawal of ads. The change also put sponsorship agreements for sporting competitions and naming-rights deals tied to TV programmes into question.

Who increased ad spend

Tunad identifies that digital platforms, pharmaceuticals, streaming services and telecommunications were already showing growth in advertising spend before the provisional measure. In the comparison between July–August 2026 and September–November 2025, reported increases were 54%, 50%, 32% and 20%, respectively. The consultancy clarified these figures do not represent a direct one-to-one substitution of betting companies’ TV spend.

Institutional reaction

Facing the revenue drop, the Brazilian Association of Radio and Television Broadcasters (Associação Brasileira de Emissoras de Rádio e Televisão, Abert) filed appeals with the Supreme Federal Court (Supremo Tribunal Federal, STF) to challenge Provisional Measure 1.394/2026. Abert asked Justice Minister Luiz Fux to suspend the measure’s effects until the National Congress reviewed it or the Court issued a ruling on the merits of the ongoing actions. The Court has not yet responded.