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Brazil accounted for 34.3 million downloads of sports betting apps between July and December 2025, which is close to a third of the total number of downloads worldwide during this period. This information is based on the State of Mobile 2026 report, which was published by Sensor Tower on January 21.
The U.S.-based analytics firm, which is famous for its research on the mobile app ecosystem, digital advertising, and consumer behavior, stated that the total number of downloads of sports betting apps worldwide during the second half of last year was 115.4 million. According to information published by Poder360, Brazil has maintained its leadership as the foremost emerging market for online betting during this period.
This dramatic increase directly corresponds to the first year of regulated betting in Brazil. The new regulations, which were introduced by the Ministry of Finance, came into effect on January 1, 2025. The new regulations include a R$30 million licensing fee and the requirement to use the “bet.br” domain.
At present, more than 80 operators have been licensed by the Ministry to operate in the Brazilian betting market.
Betting Apps Dominate Brazil’s Sports Category
According to the study by Sensor Tower, six of the top ten most downloaded sports apps in Brazil in 2025 are categorized under the “Sports Betting and Casino” genre. Of these, the Betano sports app topped the download charts in Brazil.
The study gathered information from both Google Play and the Apple App Store (iOS) between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2025. The information did not include data from third-party Android app stores.
Globally, sports betting apps had 189.4 million downloads in 2025, a 34% increase from 2024. The State of Mobile 2026 report examined apps categorized into ten thematic genres, with further breakdowns into specific genres.
Regulation as a Catalyst for Global Expansion
As reported, “Sports Betting and Casino emerged as the primary growth catalyst of the year. This expansion is increasingly global, as evolving regulatory landscapes drive record adoption in new markets such as Brazil (which officially launched regulated online gambling in 2025).”
The Brazilian situation, however, is quite different from the global trend. Although betting apps top the list of the top sports downloads in Brazil, no betting app is in the global top 10 for sports apps.
A Different Global Picture
Globally, the leading sports apps are those that provide “Sports News, Statistics, and Live Scores”, as well as streaming apps such as DAZN, Sofascore, and ESPN.
This difference in trends points to the fact that the Brazilian regulatory change and opening of the market created a special environment in which betting apps quickly became the central part of the sports app market.
The report did not release any financial information about the revenue generated by these apps in Brazil, nor did it release any information about the demographic characteristics of the users. However, the number of downloads alone indicates the rapid adoption of betting apps in Brazil in the first year of regulated market activity.
The Brazilian experience in the report indicates that the interplay of regulatory clarity, market demand, and digital accessibility created one of the most rapid betting app adoption curves seen globally in 2025.
Source: BNL Data
