More Than 800 Influencers in Brazil Are Sharing Illegal Betting Links

It has emerged that more than 800 Instagram profiles in Brazil have shared links to illegal betting sites. The finding comes from a study by the LegitBet platform, which the national gaming and lottery association ANJL uses to monitor the illegal market. Data on 802 profiles, identified among the 48,318 profiles the system monitored, was compiled as of November 2.

Monitoring was carried out in regular rounds and began shortly before the regulated market opened on January 1, 2025. The figure only shows profiles detected during monitoring, not the total number on Instagram. In a round on October 27, the system scanned 908 profiles in one hour and 25 minutes and found that 626 of them shared links to suspicious betting sites.

Of the profiles, 73 percent have between 10,000 and 100,000 followers. Another 23.6 percent of the total have between 100,000 and 1 million followers. 74 percent of the profiles post regularly, and ads with suspicious links are published at least once every three days. These profiles directed users to 844 different sites. The most shared link appeared on 86 profiles.

ANJL President Plínio Lemos Jorge said that, based on follower counts, the potential reach of these posts could be between 5.9 million and 59.4 million people. Jorge stressed that Instagram allows 13-year-olds to open accounts, and that this audience is also exposed to these profiles and illegal sites. Illegal sites do not block access by minors. The association reportedly briefed major technology companies on the situation and asked them to take effective steps to have the profiles removed.