Felipe Pereira, editor director of Sitedeapostas.com – part of Leadstar Media – catches up with SBC News to chat about the evolution of Brazil’s regulated betting sector from an affiliates perspective.
How have you had to adapt to the regulated market in Brazil since it launched last January?
The biggest change has been moving from the “wild west” into a structured, legal environment. It’s really been a year of professionalisation and compliance. We’ve focused on cleaning up our funnels and ensuring every part of our operation aligns with the new standards. It’s less about chasing every click and more about building a sustainable, compliant business.
What are the challenges in this new environment and how has Leadstar Media navigated those challenges?
The main hurdle is definitely the friction during sign-up. Mandatory KYC and facial recognition can be a shock to users who were used to sign-up within seconds. We’ve navigated this by being more transparent in our content creation—showing players that these steps are actually there for their own safety. If you set the right expectations from the start, the conversion follows.
The Brasileirão Série A has just begun for the new season, so how has your content strategy appealed to fans looking to bet on the new campaign’s action?
We always lean into the local passion for football, but 2026 has been a unique challenge. Because the calendar has to pause for the World Cup in June and July, the domestic season started much earlier than usual. This led to an intensification of matches right in the first quarter, so instead of the typical slow start to the year, we’ve been at full speed since January.
In this regulated era, fans are primarily looking for stability—they want to know they are playing on a site that isn’t going to suddenly disappear. We are focusing our strategy on being that safe, reliable source of information, prioritizing trust and a strong local connection to help fans navigate the busier schedule.
All eyes will be on North America and Mexico in the summer for the World Cup. With it being the first WC in this new era for Brazil, what is your content strategy to capitalise on the big tournament?
This World Cup will be on a completely different scale. Many days will feature six matches, and by the end of the group stage, we will see 24 matches packed into just four days. This creates a significant level of complexity for the fans, especially when factoring in the challenges of multiple time zones.
We’ll be dealing with millions of casual Brazilian fans who might be placing their first legal bets amidst a very crowded schedule right from the start, so our strategy is to make that entry point as seamless as possible. We’re focusing on guiding these new users toward the most trusted licensed brands, ensuring the onboarding is smooth while keeping the excitement of the tournament at the forefront.
Aside from football, what else drives betting volume in Brazil?
While football is and will always be the face of the market, online casinos have become the silent engine driving a massive amount of daily volume. Beyond that, eSports is really coming into its own as a major vertical, especially with the younger, digital-native crowd that is starting to dominate the player base.
Brazilian bettors are also very success-driven; we have seen this in 2025 with the surge in tennis popularity following the rise of João Fonseca, and now recently with increased interest in the Winter Olympics following Lucas Pinheiro’s gold medal.
Just over 12 months since the new market went live, Brazil’s lawmakers are already looking to shake things up with more regulation and higher taxes. What impact do you anticipate these measures having on the market, and is uncertainty healthy to sustain investment in Brazil?
Higher taxes and shifting rules are always a bit of a headache, but the Brazilian market is simply too large for major operators and affiliates to ignore. While uncertainty isn’t ideal for investment, the market has already shown its incredible potential. We expect resilience to play a crucial role in day-to-day operations, with market consolidation likely in the long run. I believe the key players who are truly committed to this market are here to stay.
Affiliates and influencers are well known for having a huge role in Brazil but have some of the marketing regulations impacted this in any way?
I believe the new rules have acted as a great filter. They’ve pushed out the “get rich quick” noise and the more reckless affiliates. This has actually been a very good aspect for professional and serious affiliate firms who are following the law. It’s shifted the focus toward product quality and overall trust, which is better for everyone in the long run.
What are your long-term outlooks for Brazil and what is Leadstar Media’s strategy for the market moving forward?
We are highly optimistic about the long-term strategy for our well-established products, such as SitedeApostas.com, and we continue to commit to new endeavours, such as the recently launched JogosdeCassino.com.
Make no mistake, Brazil is on its way to becoming one of the top iGaming markets in the world. Our overarching strategy remains simple: continue to build trust, stay at the forefront of the regulated space, and remain the most reliable bridge between players and all licensed operators.
