Gambling to the extent that a person’s physical, mental, and financial health is at risk is now a major public health issue in Brazil. According to some experts, the problem is almost as serious as alcohol and tobacco addiction. Approximately 10.9 million Brazilians aged over 14—corresponding to 6.8% of the population in this age group—gamble in a way that causes them emotional, family, economic, or work problems, classifying them as problem gamblers. The most concerning part is that around one in eight of these players, which equates to 1.4 million people or 0.8% of the population aged over 14, gambles even more problematically, in line with the diagnosis of gambling disorder, an illness characterized by an uncontrollable desire to gamble despite repeated losses.
Presented at an event held at the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP) in early April, these figures were calculated based on information collected from a representative sample of the Brazilian population. They help create an up-to-date overview of who is gambling in the country and how since the legalization and spread of online betting websites. Before this, the most recent national data obtained using a scientific methodology had been from almost 20 years ago, and the latest information available was collected by private institutions specializing in behavior and trend analysis (see Pesquisa FAPESP issue n° 344).
The team from UNIFESP’s Alcohol and Drugs Research Center (UNIAD) estimated how many people gamble in Brazil and the proportion that engage in harmful gambling based on data from the third and most recent edition of the National Survey on Drugs and Alcohol (LENAD), carried out in 2023 and 2024. Released during the launch of the Brazilian Drug Information Observatory (OBID) in Brasília at the end of March, LENAD III was led by Clarice Sandi Madruga and funded by the National Department for Drug Policies and Asset Management (SENAD), which has an agreement with UNIFESP coordinated by psychiatrist Ronaldo Laranjeira.
Léo Ramos Chaves / Pesquisa FAPESPBetting websites are accessed by 81.4% of minors who gambleLéo Ramos Chaves / Pesquisa FAPESP
The third edition of the survey expanded its sample size, interviewing 16,608 Brazilians aged 14 or over from 349 municipalities across all regions of the country—previous editions interviewed between 3,000 and 4,000 people. The third LENAD also increased the range of topics investigated. In addition to answering confidential self-report questionnaires about alcohol and tobacco consumption, participants provided information about their use of e-cigarettes (also known as vapes), potentially addictive medications, and illicit psychoactive substances. The survey also collected physical and mental health indicators and social determinants of health. The results will be detailed in publications on the theme in the coming months.
One specific module of LENAD III assessed the frequency and impact of gambling in Brazil. The nine questions of the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI), used to assess personal, social, and financial losses related to gambling and to determine the risk of a person developing a gambling disorder, were answered by 4,860 people—876 adolescents of both sexes aged between 14 and 18, and 3,984 adult men and women.
The newly released data, detailed in a 60-page document titled Caderno temático – Jogos de aposta na população brasileira (Thematic report – Gambling among the Brazilian population), suggest that the risk associated with gambling habits among Brazilians has risen compared to the first survey, although the indicators used in the two versions are not directly comparable, as they were based on different measurement methods.
In the first LENAD, carried out in 2005 and 2006 and led by Laranjeira, the interviewers collected information from 3,007 people aged over 14 in 144 Brazilian cities. At the time, there were still betting shops with electronic bingo games and slot machines, and 88.3% of the population did not gamble, as described in an article published in the journal Psychiatry Research in 2010. Just 9.4% were occasional gamblers, 1.3% had some degree of a gambling problem, and 1% fell into the category of pathological gamblers—people who continued to gamble despite having suffered financial or emotional harm and damaging family and social relationships.
In the latest survey, carried out at the beginning of the recent surge of new gambling websites, 82.6% of people did not gamble—almost six percentage points lower than observed in LENAD I. The remaining 17.4%, a figure that corresponds to almost 28 million Brazilians, are distributed as follows: 10.6% gamble sporadically, experiencing no associated problems; 3.4% are at a low risk of becoming addicted; 2.6% are at moderate risk; and 0.8% are problem gamblers (see chart below). The latter are those who scored more than 8 points on the PGSI scale, which goes up to 27, and may already have a gambling disorder, a form of addiction induced by behavior rather than by a chemical substance that is described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) and in the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD).
“There are worrying signs of an increase in problematic behavior related to gambling,” says Hermano Tavares, a psychiatrist from the University of São Paulo (USP) who detailed the results of LENAD I in Psychiatry Research but did not participate in the current version of the survey. “These signs began to intensify during the pandemic, when online betting increased, a boost that has not yet lost its momentum. Gambling is now the third most common addiction among Brazilians. The number of people addicted exceeds that of cocaine and crack, and is second only to alcohol and tobacco. The public health system is not prepared to deal with this,” he says.
“This disorder manifests itself when a person loses control over their gambling habit and it begins to occupy a central role in their life, causing significant harm,” explains psychiatrist Daniel Spritzer, a postdoctoral researcher at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) who was involved in LENAD III. “This includes betting more than they can or should, losing money and betting again to try to win it back, or needing to keep increasing the amounts they bet in order to feel the same initial pleasure,” he explains. Warning signs include anxiety and distress when unable to gamble, as well as behavior such as borrowing money or selling assets to continue gambling.
The proportion of gamblers varies in each region of the country. The highest percentage is in the South (20.4% of people aged over 14 years old gamble) and the lowest is in the Northeast, at 16.3% (see map, left). The relationship between the two regions is reversed when it comes to individuals who engage in problematic gambling: the largest proportion of people at some degree of risk of gambling disorder (low, medium, or high) is in the Northeast (52.3%), while this proportion is much lower in the South (29.8%) and Southeast (28%) (see graph).
The prevalence of risky or problematic forms of gambling was also higher (52.8%) among people who earn minimum wage or less—R$1,212 per month at the time of the survey—than among people who receive twice the minimum wage or more (21.1%). “Individuals with incomes below the minimum wage are three times more likely to have a risky or problematic gambling habit, regardless of gender or age,” says Madruga.
The preferred form of gambling in Brazil is lotteries, although online betting websites now appear in second place ahead of the traditional jogo do bicho lottery-style game. Of all gamblers, 71.3% play the Mega-Sena, Quina, Lotomania, and other lottery games, while 32.1% prefer betting websites and 28.9% play jogo do bicho (see chart).
There are almost twice as many male gamblers as females (64.8% versus 35.2%), and in a trend already seen in international studies, there are three groups at greater risk of developing gambling disorder in Brazil: teenagers, people with lower incomes, and people who use betting websites. “Because they are highly available, accessible via cell phone, and can immediately reinforce the feeling of gratification and reward, online betting platforms significantly increase the number of people at risk of the disorder,” explains the UNIFESP researcher.
In Brazil, people under 18 years of age are not allowed to gamble. Despite this fact, 4% of the gamblers identified in LENAD III were minors (see chart above). The majority of people in this age group who gamble do so online (84.1%), and although it is a small group, it accounts for one of the highest proportions of people at risk of developing a gambling disorder, at 55.4% compared to 37.7% among adults. “Teenagers’ brains are still developing. They are more influenced by advertising, which is blatant and targeted at young people. The medical literature indicates that adolescents are 2 to 4 times more likely than adults to develop gambling problems,” says Spritzer.
Madruga agrees that one of the reasons why websites are more dangerous is the illusion of control they create. “Online, players believe they can understand and manipulate the results of something that, in reality, is random,” explains the LENAD III coordinator. This rationale, says the researcher, is similar to the belief among illicit drug users that they are in control of their habit and do not see themselves as part of the group of people with problems. “The study makes it clear that gambling is a powerful trigger of disorders on a scale that has already surpassed almost all psychoactive drugs. It is essential that we implement stricter regulations to protect the most vulnerable,” he emphasizes.
The authors of LENAD III, in collaboration with researchers from the Drug and Alcohol Research Center at Hospital de Clínicas in Porto Alegre and UFRGS, developed a set of recommendations on how to reduce problematic gambling. “They are based on the best available scientific evidence of measures that have been adopted in other countries and have proven effective at addressing this public health challenge,” concludes Madruga.
Based on the results of the LENAD III survey on gambling habits, researchers from UNIFESP and UFRGS drew up 14 sets of actions designed to reduce the risk of engaging in risky behavior and developing a gambling disorder. Six are recommendations for the government and regulatory authorities responsible for gambling in Brazil, while the remaining eight consist of guidelines for gamblers themselves, highlighting warning signs and risky behavior.
Recommendations for regulatory authorities:
Regulation and supervision
- Implement stricter licensing requirements for online gambling operators, ensuring transparency in how these services are provided and holding service providers accountable for potential harm.
- Ensure that independent regulatory bodies have the authority to oversee the sector, monitor business practices, and most importantly, apply sanctions when necessary.
Protection of children and adolescents
- Make the protection of children and adolescents mandatory by requiring personal data verification to access gambling websites, with strict age requirements.
- Modernize registration and monitoring systems, incorporating strategies such as biometric identity verification, behavior and usage analysis, and AI-assisted document verification or photographic authentication.
- Promote school presentations and educational content about the risks associated with gambling and strategies for resisting social and media influences.
- Reduce the exposure of minors to gambling by prohibiting or restricting their access to betting platforms and banning gambling advertisements and sponsorship in media accessible to underage audiences, something not yet covered by gambling legislation in Brazil (Law No. 14,790/2023).
Protection of vulnerable groups
- Establish mandatory user registration to enable tracking of risky usage patterns and early intervention.
- Create universal self-exclusion systems, allowing individuals to voluntarily limit their access to gambling websites.
- Offer technological monitoring tools, such as tailored warnings and automatic blocking based on risky behavior.
Funding for research, education, and assistance
- Establish a requirement for gambling website operators to contribute to the funding of independent research on the impacts of gambling, broad-reach educational campaigns, and treatment and support services for affected individuals.
New approach to communication
- Change the narrative from focusing on the idea of “responsible gambling”—which places the responsibility exclusively on the gambler—to warning people of the risks involved in gambling.
- Promote educational campaigns emphasizing that engaging in risky gambling behavior is not a healthy or beneficial leisure activity, especially for young people and vulnerable groups.
- Require transparency about the risks involved in gambling, including the real likelihood of financial losses and manipulative techniques used by gambling sites.
Advertising restrictions
• Ban gambling advertisements in media accessible to minors and during prime-time hours.
- Limit the use of public figures, influencers, and athletes to promote gambling.
- Require clear and visible warnings about the risks associated with gambling, similar to those used in antismoking campaigns.
Recommendations for gamblers
Talk to someone
- If you think your gambling is becoming a problem, seek help. Talking to someone who does not gamble can help you find solutions. Organizations such as Gamblers Anonymous (GA) or the Centros de Atenção Psicossocial em Álcool e Drogas (CAPS-AD) in Brazil offer support for individuals with gambling problems.
Reflect on why you gamble
- Identify the motives for your behavior. Gambling should not be a compulsive habit or a way to solve financial problems. Do not try to use gambling as a way of getting out of debt or making quick money.
Monitor your gambling
- Keep track of how often you gamble and how much money you are spending.
Seek out reliable information
- Inform yourself about the real risks involved in gambling, the odds of losing, and the manipulative techniques used by gambling platforms.
Set spending limits
- Set a limit on how much you can spend on gambling.
Take breaks
- Take regular breaks to avoid overload and addiction; temporary account blocks can be used to maintain mental clarity and financial control.
Protect personal data
- Never share your personal or banking information with third parties to open accounts on gambling sites. This can expose you to risks of identity theft, fraud, or involvement in criminal activities.
Avoid using substances that alter your mental state while gambling
Do not consume alcohol or other substances that may impair your judgment and encourage impulsive decision-making when gambling.
The story above was published with the title “How Brazilians gamble” in issue 351 of May/2025.
Scientific article
TAVARES, H. et al. Gambling in Brazil: Lifetime prevalences and socio-demographic correlates. Psychiatry Research. Nov. 30, 2010.
Survey
Terceiro Levantamento Nacional de Álcool e Drogas (Lenad): Caderno temático jogos de aposta na população brasileira – Resultados 2023. São Paulo. Unifesp. 2025.
