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Brazil’s Receita Federal reported its total tax revenue for January 2026 to be R$325.751 billion, reflecting a 3.56% real growth rate compared to January 2025. This was the highest tax revenue collected for January since the series began back in 1995.
According to tax authorities, Claudemir Malaquias, head of the Center for Tax and Customs Studies, and Marcelo Gomide, coordinator of Forecasting and Analysis, the robust nature of the Brazilian economy and the tax rate played a crucial role in the positive growth. The tax revenue collected by the Brazilian government through the Receita Federal was boosted by the decline in oil royalty payments.
Betting Revenue Jumps 2,642% Year-on-Year
Another interesting feature of the tax revenue collected by the Brazilian government was the sharp growth in tax revenue collected from lotteries, gambling, online games, and sports betting. The tax revenue collected from betting activities rose to R$1.5 billion in January 2026 from R$55 million collected in January 2025, reflecting a growth of 2,642%.
The regulated betting market started operating in January 2025. At this time, companies began to pay taxes on their Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) in February 2025. Therefore, the tax revenue collected by the Brazilian government was low during January 2025. In January 2025, no regulated betting operator paid taxes on their betting revenue.
The tax revenue collected during January 2025 was minimal since no regulated operator paid taxes during this period. The tax revenue collected during January 2026 was expected to be higher since it was the second month of operation for the regulated betting market.
Structural Changes at Caixa and Data Interpretation
Caixa Econômica Federal has made recent structural changes to its lottery business by setting up its own subsidiary named Loterias Caixa with its own corporate tax ID.
Malaquias offered a word of caution on the interpretation of trends in the collection of revenue related to betting. He stated: “Marcelo mentioned the issue of Income Tax withheld at source on the Mega da Virada, but you also have the thirteenth salary, which makes social security revenue appear in January. We will assess and see if we can identify the growth in collection.”
He further added: “It recently happened within the structure of Caixa Econômica Federal that a specific new tax ID was created for lotteries. You will see growth if you follow betting revenue collection. Caixa now has a new treatment, a new tax ID, and this is separated into another activity.”
He further stated that the increase in revenue collection may be due to a change in accounting practices rather than a real increase in revenue collection. He stated: “In a comparative analysis of the series, you may identify growth in a certain activity, but it is not growth – it is simply a shift of the tax base to another tax ID.”
Higher Tax Rates and Future Impact
New fiscal measures approved at the end of 2025 are likely to have a further impact on revenue collection in 2026. Complementary Law 224/2025 increases the tax rate applicable to fixed-odds betting from 12% to 13% in 2026. This rate is set to increase further to 14% in 2027 and 15% in 2028.
Malaquias stated: “The taxable event is subject to a ninety-day rule, but the collection of these contributions occurs on the last day of the following month. We will only see this in the May revenue figures, which will be published one month later.”
As the tax rate increases progressively, regulation grows, and the structure of reporting changes, the betting and lottery tax is establishing itself as a rising pillar of Brazil’s federal revenue strategy.
Source: BNL Data
