ANJL Rejects Claims Betting Hurts Brazil’s Retail Sector

The debate over the impact of Brazil’s regulated betting industry on the retail sector has intensified after the President of the National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL), Plínio Lemos Jorge, rejected claims that betting operators are responsible for weakening retail sales.

His comments followed a study by Strategy & Brasil, commissioned by the Think Tank Retail Institute, which estimated that online betting could be diverting as much as R$50 billion from retail spending each year.

ANJL Challenges Retail Claims

Jorge argued that the report presents a misleading view of the betting industry's economic impact by comparing total betting turnover with operator revenue.

According to him, treating every wager placed as money permanently removed from the economy creates an inaccurate assessment of the sector. He maintained that betting volume should not be interpreted as equivalent to consumer spending lost by retailers.

Net Player Spending Offers a Different View

To support his position, Jorge referred to research by LCA Consultoria based on publicly available data, which found that the average net expenditure per bettor is approximately R$122.

While acknowledging the importance of responsible gambling measures, he said this figure does not support claims that regulated betting is depriving the retail industry of billions of reais each year.

Jorge also argued that betting platforms are not replacing traditional retailers. Instead, he believes consumer behaviour has evolved as more purchasing activity shifts toward digital commerce.

According to him, the retail sector’s challenges are primarily linked to broader changes in shopping habits rather than the growth of regulated betting.

E-Commerce Continues to Expand

Jorge pointed to the continued expansion of Brazil’s online retail market as further evidence of changing consumer preferences.

He noted that traditional retail sales grew by less than 2% during 2025, while online commerce recorded double-digit growth, citing GetNet data. Clothing sales increased by 39%, while cosmetics sales rose by 20%.

He also referenced Mercado Livre’s fourth-quarter 2025 results, which reported approximately 95 sales every second.

These figures, he said, illustrate a structural transition toward digital shopping instead of consumers redirecting their spending to betting platforms. He added that online betting represents less than 1% of average household expenditure and therefore cannot reasonably explain the difficulties experienced by the retail sector.

Household Debt Linked to Credit Use

Jorge also questioned how retail activity is measured in Brazil, arguing that existing indicators, including the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics’ (IBGE) Monthly Retail Survey (PMC), were designed for traditional commerce and do not fully reflect the rapid expansion of digital marketplaces.

He suggested that current measurement methods have not kept pace with changes in the economy.

Addressing household debt, Jorge said financial pressures are more closely associated with widespread reliance on consumer credit, instalment purchases and high revolving interest rates than with regulated betting.

He concluded that the rise in household debt reflects long-standing credit dependency and changing shopping habits rather than the growth of Brazil’s regulated betting market.