Do I Need to Pay Taxes on Online Gambling Winnings in Brazil?

Legal lottery winnings are taxed at a flat 30% rate in Brazil, for both local and foreign residents. The difference is that local residents must file their winnings under income tax, whereas foreigners’ tax rate is subtracted directly from the source. As online gambling is illegal, there are no applicable tax laws for these activities. Meaning, you can keep all of your winnings.

Can I Play With Brazilian real at Online Casinos?

Yes, many online casinos accepting of Brazilian players also offer the BRL as a currency option. If BRL is unavailable, you may still play by converting your BRL deposits into whichever currency your account is using. This process is automatic, however you may be liable to minor currency conversion fees.

Is It Safe To Play at Brazilian Online Casinos?

Online casino gambling within Brazil is illegal, but players are not prosecuted for gambling at off-shore online casinos, which results in many leading European online casinos taking in Brazilian players. In case of legal repercussions, usually the operators are the ones who will suffer the consequences, rather than the players themselves. As such, you can consider your online gambling activities perfectly safe, as thousands of Brazilian players place online wagers on a daily basis.

Can I Play For Free at Brazilian Online Casinos?

Playing for free is an option at most online casinos that accept Brazilian players. Many games can be played in “Fun Play” before you dig in with real money action. This gives you an opportunity to test out a few games yourself before deciding to place real wagers. Of course, no winnings can be derived by playing for free. In rare cases, an exception can be made if you have claimed a no deposit bonus.

Can I Expect Bonuses at Brazilian Online Casinos?

__Yes -__ Online casinos open their arms to new players with generous welcome bonuses, and Brazilian players are no exception. Typically, you will be able to claim a significant bonus boost on your first few deposits, followed by regular promotions in the form of match bonuses, reload bonuses, cash back bonuses and free spins. Our site features the best online casino bonuses for Brazilian players, so that you can make the most out of your deposits.

Are There Withdrawal Fees at Brazilian Online Casinos?

Withdrawal fees will depend on the payment method you are using to withdraw your money. In general, payouts through Bank Transfer are liable to significant fixed fees. In contrast, e-wallet withdrawals only have minor fees (1%-2%) and boast the quickest payout times.

What Do I Need To Do To Receive My Winnings?

One significant step prior to withdrawal is identity verification, which is a requirement across all online casinos for all players, with no exceptions. You can verify your identity by sending relevant identification documents to your casino’s support team, usually in the form of a photo of your personal ID and a photo of a utility bill to your name that has been paid within the last 6 months. In some cases, you may also need to photograph your credit/debit card if you’ve used this banking method when making a deposit. Make sure to consult your online casino for the exact details, as requirements may vary.

How Long Will It Take Before I Receive My Winnings?

If you are using an e-wallet to withdraw your winnings, then 24 to 48 hours is the expected waiting time, which is considered extremely fast for online casino payouts. Withdrawals to debit cards, credit cards and via Bank Transfer usually take longer – a few business days, up to a full working week.

Which Payment Methods Are Available at Brazilian Online Casinos?

Most Brazilian online payment options require you to link your bank account for them to function. As such, you can rely on your usual credit and debit cards, as well as Bank Transfer. In terms of e-wallets, Neteller and Skrill have stopped offering their services to Brazilian players when it comes to online gambling transactions. On the flipside, however, ecoPayz is a sound alternative you can take advantage of for fast deposits and withdrawals with little in the way of fees. PayPal, whenever available, is also an option to Brazilian players. Boleto Bancario, however, remains one of the most popular Brazilian payment methods as it does not require a bank account to function. This is why Boleto Bancario accounts for 15% of all online transactions in Brazil. The one downside is that deposits to online casinos via this method will take a few days to process.

Best Online Casinos in Brazil: Top 10 Casino Websites 2023

Online casinos in Brazil

In terms of online gambling, the country’s Criminal Contravention Act of 1941 forbids Brazilian companies from operating online casinos.

This is why a large number of Brazilians turn to off-shore licensed online casinos for their gambling needs on casino games and sports betting. There is no stature in Brazil’s federal law that prohibits this activity, meaning you cannot be legally prosecuted for wagering in online casinos licensed outside of Brazil.

This is why a number of leading European brands offer their services in Portuguese and offer the Brazilian real as a currency. What’s more, most of these casinos are already popular in Europe, and are licensed and regulated by the Malta Gaming Authority, the industry's most respected regulatory body.

As a Brazilian online gamer, you can expect large promotions in the form of welcome bonuses and free spins, hundreds of the market’s finest and well-paying games, and a large set of payment options for deposit and withdrawal purposes.

Our team of experts is constantly on the lookout for the best Brazilian online casinos. You can have a look at our list of reviewed casinos to get more details on each operator. Make your choice, and you can start playing right now.

If you’d like, you can read on for additional information on the state of gambling in Brazil, including the legal status, the most popular games, and a list of commonly asked questions that may help you make a decision before playing.

History of gambling in Brazil

Brazil is a country with a long, controversial history of gambling.

Gambling in the country was completely legal up until 1941, which marked the end of World War II. The country’s new leader, Eurico Gaspar Dutra, who won the elections as the head of the Social Democratic Party, banned all forms of gambling in an effort to battle organized crime with the Criminal Contravention Act of 1941.

The only exceptions to this ban were betting on horse racing and lottery. These forms of gambling are still legal in Brazil today, but only at establishments that have acquired the proper license. It is noteworthy to mention that these betting shops are far and few between. Therefore, most forms of gambling by Brazilians take is illegal.

Horse racing and lotteries have always been popular betting forms in Brazil throughout history. The country’s immense passion for soccer has also fueled a large illegal soccer betting market.

Gambling in Brazil nowadays

There have been numerous government attempts to put gambling to a halt in the 21st century. Namely, in 2008, a bill in front of the Brazilian congress proposed a ban on all online gambling, but it failed to pass. The year after, a softer ban was attempted by proposing that all online gambling sites be blocked by Brazilian internet service providers, which once again failed.

In 2010, there was also an attempt to enforce that all financial entities ban transactions taking place between Brazilian residents and off-shore online casinos. This bill proved futile as well, as it did not pass congress.

Soccer betting, horse racing and Jogo de Bicho (the animal game), an illegal lottery-type game remain the most popular forms of gambling in Brazil today.

There are only 6 legal land casinos present on Brazilian soil:

Gavea Hippodrome (Rio de Janeiro)
Palacio Quitandinha (Quitandinha, Petropolis)
Hipodromo do Cristal (Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul)
Winfil Entertenimento (Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul)
Hipodromo do Taruma (Curitba, Parana)
Hipodromo de Cidade (Cidade Jardim, Sao Paolo)

Many of these casinos are known for their horse racing activities, but some of them boast over 400 gambling machines, most of which are slots. Basic forms of Blackjack, Roulette, and Poker are also available.

Future of online casinos in Brazil

Most gambling in Brazil, specifically games of chance, remain prohibited by law. Only a few games are allowed, talk of lotteries and horserace betting. But then, from the current economic and political landscape, all dynamics point at Brazil opening up the gambling market.

Currently, Brazil's gambling industry is regulated by the General Tourism Law, but the reality is that gambling remains unregulated. Many Brazilians engage in gambling on offshore online casinos. Illegal gambling is also rampant in the world's 5th largest country by area and the 6th most populous.

In recent years, Brazil's economy has been on a free fall. To salvage the situation, the country's political elite are keen on changing gambling laws to attract investors and generate revenue in the form of taxes.

Mobile casino gaming is also something that is becoming a huge trend around the world and in Brazil. Casino mobile Brasil are showing no signs of disappearing out of trend. Make sure to check out the best mobile casino brazil today.

Right now, there are deliberate plans to change the gambling framework to allow more forms of gambling, including online gambling. Most governments, including Brazil's, have realized that even if gambling remains illegal in the particular jurisdiction, citizens will still access the offshore sites.

That said, it's better to ease the local gambling rules and allow gambling, but under strict regulation. In the next few years, Brazil could lift the ban on gambling.

Are casinos legal in Brazil?

Yes and no.

Some casinos are allowed to run by on Brazilian soil thanks to a state-issued license, but there are only 6 of them in a country of 200 million residents. This is too small a number to state the country’s notable passion for many forms of gambling.

The Criminal Contravention Act of 1941, introduced by then-president Eurico Gaspar Dutra, outlaws most forms of gambling – including online gambling.

Although the law does not specifically mention online gambling, as the Internet did not exist at the time, experts rightly interpret this law to mean that operating an online casino within Brazil is illegal, as they would be hosting games of chance.

On the flip side, there is nothing in Brazil’s federal law that makes it illegal for citizens to gamble on off-shore gambling venues, including off-shore online casinos.

By gambling online from Brazil, there is no legal basis for you to be prosecuted, and there have been no recorded cases of individual prosecution of this manner to date.

This is why many leading European online casinos are welcoming of the Brazilian player base. Some of them are available in Portuguese and offer the Brazilian real as a currency.

Depositing and withdrawing cash is also accessible thanks to a myriad of alternative banking methods. This is why it is estimated that the value of online bets made on an annual basis surpasses the $900,000,000 mark.

In summary, it is not illegal to gamble online, but gambling on Brazilian soil is illegal with some exceptions like horse racing and lottery.

Brazilian players' favorite games

Historically, Brazilians have always been passionate soccer fans, thus translating into a massive soccer betting market, although mostly illegal. What’s more, betting on horse races has been mainstream for over 70 years, and there are many race tracks around the country, some of which are located within the 6 legal casino resorts.

Jogo do Bicho, also known as the animal game, is a game similar to a lottery, which has daily drawings held by “bankers”, another word for criminals referred to as bicheiros. This game rakes in more than USD$3.75 billion in wagers on an annual basis, 4 times as much as online gambling.

Despite its popularity, the game is illegal in 25 of Brazil’s 26 states, with the exception of Pariba. Soccer betting has always been a mainstay, as the country has a long-held passion for this sport.

In terms of casino games, Blackjack and Roulette have been popular for decades, and have been played in illegal parlors across the country in large volumes. More recently, Poker has also witnessed an exponential rise in popularity.

In terms of online gambling, Brazilians love modern slots just like everyone else and enjoy top-tier games by NetEnt, Betsoft, Yggdrasil, and many others.

The advent of Internet casinos also coincided with the opening of many online sportsbooks, which gave Brazilians a fantastic venue to freely wager on their favorite sport – soccer.

Popular casino bonuses in Brazil

Bonuses go a long way towards making a decision on where to play, and casino operators are well aware of this, especially when we consider the heavy online competition. This is why Brazilian online casinos shower players with overly generous welcome bonuses, reoccurring match deposit bonuses, free spins, and ongoing regular promotions throughout the year.

Welcome bonuses

The welcome bonus is considered an acquisition cost by online casinos. Meaning a temporary loss for long-term gain, as the casino assumes you will lose more than you win in the long run.

On a global scale, this is true, as all casinos are raking in profits. However, this also means that you stand to gain more than the casino by claiming a welcome bonus.

This is why these offers are considered of the highest value out of all promotions in the online market. A welcome bonus will typically double your first deposit and offer fair bonus terms that let you wager your cash in a seamless fashion.

Free Spins Bonuses

Free Spins bonuses are becoming more and more common as of late, and they are often bundled with welcome bonuses i.e. 100% up to €100 + 100 Free Spins. Occasionally, Free Spins are also offered as a standalone offer, often in the form of a no deposit bonus or during holiday events throughout the year.

Typically, money won through Free Spins is automatically converted into bonus cash that needs to be wagered before you are allowed to withdraw any leftover winnings.

No deposit bonuses

No Deposit Bonuses are quite a rarity among the online casino world, but they are still available from time to time. Although, in all honesty, Brazilian players who come across a no deposit bonus should consider themselves extremely lucky.

For when you do, keep in mind that No Deposit Bonuses have high wagering requirements and a cashout limit, but they are a great chance of winning some money through no risk on your part.

Payment methods in Brazil

To ensure that players get in the game without hassles, casinos in Brazil offer flexible payment methods.

To start, fiat money currency is the most widespread. The Brazilian real is the official currency in the country. This is the standard currency on most Brazilian casinos, but still, players can choose to gamble using other international currencies such as the US dollar, British pound, euro, and so on.

Besides the fiat money currencies, there are Bitcoin casinos in Brazil. Here, players can use crypto such as bitcoin, ethereum, and litecoin, among other cryptos.

Now, on to the payment methods, casinos in Brazil have partnered with the most popular online payment platforms for swift banking.

To play at a real money casino, Brazilian gamblers must deposit funds into their accounts. The popular deposit methods cut across debit, credit, and prepaid cards. In addition, there are several other methods, including eWallets and bank transfers.

The most popular deposit method in Brazil is Boleto Bancário, Brazil's official payment method.

There are also international payment systems such as Neteller, Euteller, Visa, Mastercard, Paysafecard, PayPal, Entropay, Skrill, and ecoPayz, just to mention a few.

Withdrawals can be channeled to the same deposit method used for making deposits.

Languages at Brazilian casinos

Online casinos accepting Brazilian players are offshore casinos that cater to players from different regions of the world.

To ensure that Brazilians get in the game, these casinos allow players to gamble in their native language, Portuguese. However, this is not standard Portuguese.

Brazil's Portuguese has evolved, especially in terms of spellings, after the Portuguese Language Orthographic Agreement of 1990. This is a treaty aimed at unifying the Portuguese language's orthography globally.

Some casinos will have standard English as the default language, but there are platforms that detect the player's location and switch automatically to Brazilian Portuguese. On most casinos, the Brazilian Portuguese language option will be listed as pt-BR (Brazilian Portuguese).

And it's not just Brazilian Portuguese; some casinos have dozens of international languages, including European Portuguese, standard Portuguese, American English, Canadian English, Australian English, German, Italian, French, Spanish, and Chinese, among others.

What's more? Players can change between the different languages at any time - there are no restrictions. The language menu will probably be on the settings menu, at the bottom of the casino page, top menu, or sidebar. Languages are commonly iconized using the native country's flag.

How we select the best Brazilian online casinos

Since Brazilians have their choice between dozens of successful off-shore online casinos, this may be daunting to a newcomer. Making a choice on where to put your real money is not always easy, which is why our team of experts is here to help with our detailed casino reviews.

As you read on, you will learn more about the criteria we use to judge Brazilian online casinos, and how the average casino performs in each of these criteria.

Security at Brazilian online casinos

Since Brazilians are not technically breaking the law by gambling online, many of the world’s top online casino operators have begun catering to Brazilian customers by offering their services in Portuguese and the Brazilian real as a currency of choice.

The best part is that these online casinos already cater to the European player base, and are licensed by the Malta Gaming Authority and UK Gambling Commission, the industry’s most respected licensing bodies.

This means that these online casinos must adhere to strict guidelines that go towards ensuring fair play and security to all players, regardless of their country of residence.

As such, you can rest assured that placing your real money at any of our recommended Brazilian online casinos is perfectly safe.

Customer support at Brazilian online casinos

Customer support is one of the most important factors of a well-run online casino. Fortunately, most Brazilian online casinos adhere to many industry standards of quality, which include live chat support 7 days of a week.

As such, you can rest assured that whenever you run into an issue or have a question in mind, you can rely on live chat and get your query resolved within minutes of your request.

Occasionally, telephone support is also available through toll-free International phone numbers. If your issue or question is not urgent, every online casino boasts e-mail support as well.

Gaming selection and softwares at Brazilian online casinos

Ultimately, online casinos are all about gaming, and if all other aspects meet our expectations, and the gaming library does not, this is not an online casino we would recommend for playing.

The good news is that, in general, Brazilian online casinos boast rich gaming libraries powered by the industry’s most trustworthy software companies in the likes of Yggdrasil, Play N Go, Microgaming, and NetEnt.

This means Brazilian players can expect hundreds of top quality games of all kinds, ranging from Video Slots to Video Poker.

Slot machines

Brazilians, just like most gambling enthusiasts from across the globe, love slot machines, and Brazilian online casinos are overflowing with slots of the highest quality.

With providers like NetEnt and Yggdrasil on the menu, you can expect the best of the best in terms of Classic Slots, Video Slots and Progressive Jackpots – which can turn you into a millionaire with a single spin of the wheel.

Table games

A casino without Table Games is like a house without windows. As such, you can rest assured that every Brazilian casino will cater to lovers of games of skill through many exciting variants of Blackjack, Roulette, Baccarat, and Poker.

Video poker

Video Poker, although predominantly popular in the USA, is also popular among many residents of other countries. Given the case, the majority of Brazilian online casinos will feature a good selection of Video Poker titles such as Deuces Wild, Aces & Faces, Joker Wild, and so forth.

Live casino

Those who love Table Games must experience live dealer gaming, as it is the next best thing to visiting a land casino. While sitting in front of your computer, laptop, or even smartphone device, you can experience the thrill of live gaming brought on via high-definition streams, friendly and chatty presenters, and numerous innovative Table Game variants at your disposal 24/7.

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