Brazil’s sweeping ban on online betting and casino operations may trigger a significant reshaping of gambling investment flows across Latin America.
Juan Camilo Carrasco, managing partner at law firm Sora Lawyers, says other regional markets stand to benefit if the Brazilian restrictions remain in place.
Carrasco made the remarks in an interview with NEXT.io, highlighting Colombia and Peru as the likeliest destinations for redirected gambling capital.
“Established markets such as Colombia and Peru appear to be the main candidates to absorb some of the growth the sector had originally projected for Brazil,” Carrasco said.
The legal expert was clear that the broader Latin American market would not simply lose investment but rather see it redistributed across more predictable jurisdictions.
“Latin America will not lose investment; we are more likely to see that investment redistributed towards jurisdictions offering greater regulatory predictability,” Carrasco said.
He added that any meaningful shift in capital would depend on individual countries actively pursuing economic policies that create stable and favourable conditions for the industry.
Colombia is widely considered the frontrunner among potential beneficiaries, having become the first country in Latin America to regulate online betting back in 2016.
The Colombian market received an additional boost in April when the country’s Constitutional Court struck down the 19% VAT rate on online gambling previously introduced by Gustavo Petro’s government.
That development was seen as a strong signal to international operators and investors that Colombia remains committed to maintaining a competitive and business-friendly regulatory framework.
Peru’s regulated gambling market, which came into effect in 2024, is also drawing increasing attention from investors looking for alternative destinations following the Brazilian restrictions.
Both markets offer regulatory structures that contrast sharply with the uncertainty now surrounding Brazil, making them attractive propositions for operators reassessing their regional strategies.
The situation underlines a broader truth about the Latin American gambling landscape, where regulatory clarity has become a critical factor in determining where major operators choose to deploy resources.
Brazil had been widely projected as one of the most lucrative emerging gambling markets in the world, making the ban a significant disruption to industry forecasts across the region.
How quickly investment pivots toward Colombia, Peru, or other jurisdictions will largely depend on how long Brazil’s restrictions remain in place and whether any policy reversal emerges in the near term.
