Electronic games in Brazil - favorites and betting insights

The Brazilian gaming market is showing enormous potential for both audience and revenue growth, particularly in the e-sports sector. Brazil is the third country in Latin America for esports tournament viewership, with a medium of 1 billion hours of League of Legends watching. However, the most promising games in Brazil might be slightly different from around the world. Here are some insights on the favorite electronic games in Brazil and esports behavior.

Brazil has its favorites

According to Newzoo's Global Esports Market Report, football is the most popular sport in Brazil. But if you thought FIFA or Rocket League would be on top of the most played online games, you’re slightly mistaken. Apparently, the most played game in the country is Free Fire Battlegrounds, with over 50 million active players.

Yes, Brazilians love their shooters! Titles such as CS:GO, Fortnite, PUBG, and Valorant are also on top of the list. However, a general research by Statista, which includes non-electronic games, has shown that the favorite game-genres in the country are Action-Adventure and Action, which includes titles like Baldur’s Gate III, Hogwarts Legacy, Elden Ring, and similar.

In the electronic games landscape, there is a noticeable increase in user penetration within mobile gaming. Genres such as FPS (First-Person Shooter) and MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) are gaining popularity and success on mobile devices. Notable examples include "Honor of Kings," which boasted the highest esports prize pool in 2024, and the already mentioned "Free Fire." Projections indicate that by 2029, the gaming penetration rate in Brazil will rise to 47.4 percent, reflecting the growing engagement and influence of mobile gaming in the country.

In 2019, prior to the pandemic, the esports industry generated $957.5 million in revenue. However, projections for 2024 estimate revenues will reach $1.6 billion, highlighting robust growth. This promising landscape has made numerous international companies invest in the Brazilian market, achieving significant success in terms of both revenue and new consumers.

Esports betting in Brazil

Since esports are considerably new, there’s no current law to support or categorize it in most countries yet. However, the government is already working on it, and word of mouth even says that some electronic games may become olympic sports in the future. They are already extremely popular on the sports betting market though, with CS:GO leading the pack of most popular games to bet on, followed by League of Legends, Dota 2 and Valorant.

A study by KTO brought some insights on Brazilian bettor behavior. In terms of distribution, a significant majority of wages are placed via mobile devices, with 84.54% of bet counts and 86.80% of wagered amounts coming from mobile platforms, confirming the dominance of mobile phones as the preferred medium. A notable 93.50% of active bettors engage in pre-game betting, highlighting a strong preference for planning their bets before the games begin.

Among these pre-game bettors, 13.60% take on more complex bets, indicating that a significant portion of bettors are willing to pursue riskier strategies. The majority of bets (65.46%) and a substantial portion of wagered amounts (62.8%) are decided before the games start, reflecting a tendency among bettors to make choices based on prior analysis.

Live betting also captures a considerable share of activity, with 65% of bettors participating in this modality. This allows bettors to add or modify their bets in response to real-time events during the game. Expanding on the dynamics of live betting, 32% of bettors opt for mixed bets, taking advantage of the opportunity to adjust their bets as the game progresses.

The esports betting market in Brazil is expected to see significant growth, with projected revenue reaching US$86.0 million in 2024 and an annual growth rate of 7.29%, leading to a market volume of US$114.0 million by 2028.

Overall, data on user penetration, favorite games, and betting engagement highlights the active participation of Brazilians in the iGaming industry. The ongoing debate about the legalization of gambling and casinos underscores the country's deep-rooted culture of gaming and responsible betting. This evolving landscape is likely to expand the rapidly growing market, positioning Brazil to become one of the largest gaming markets in the world in the near future.