A casino in the Brazilian pocket


A gambler betting on bingo and sports simultaneously using cash and his cell phone in Rio de Janeiro. — ©2025 The New York Times Company

TAIZA Carine da Costa got her first taste of gambling at the tender age of nine.

Growing up on the fringes of Rio de Janeiro, her godparents would send her out with a few coins to bet on the popular but illegal lottery known as jogo do bicho – the animal game.

For over a century, this lottery has been an intrinsic part of Brazil’s cultural fabric.

The habit stuck.

Now 37, Costa still bets, albeit in a much more modern way.

While dreams once guided her bets in the animal game, Costa now spends her days glued to a digital slot machine app called Tigrinho (Little Tiger), a Chinese-inspired game that promises big rewards for matching three symbols.

Her gambling has escalated along with her losses – she estimates losing around US$80,000 over two years.

A VERY LOW BLOW

“It’s hard to stop,” she admits.

Gambling frenzy

Since Brazil legalised digital gambling in 2018, mobile betting apps have exploded in popularity, offering 24/7 access to games like Tigrinho.

Online platforms now draw over US$23bil in wagers annually, dwarfing the traditional animal lottery, which sees about a tenth of that amount.

These platforms, promising rapid riches, have sparked a nationwide debate on regulating the booming industry while protecting vulnerable, lower-income populations.

This gambling frenzy has also placed the beloved jogo do bicho in jeopardy. Once a cornerstone of Brazilian street culture, the lottery’s physical, analogue format struggles to compete with the constant allure of online games.

“The Brazilian gambler now has a casino in their pocket,” says Magno José Santos de Souza, president of the Legal Games Institute.

Facing extinction

The animal lottery was born in the 1890s, an idea from a baron looking to boost attendance at his zoo in Rio’s Vila Isabel neighbourhood.

Raffle tickets included an animal-based draw, which quickly outgrew the zoo’s popularity.

Despite being banned three years later to protect state-run lotteries, the animal game flourished. By the 1970s, it had become a multi-million-dollar enterprise, sparking violent turf wars among Rio’s mafias.

To maintain their grip, lottery kingpins divided territories and cultivated goodwill in working-class areas by funding local football teams, Carnival parades and charity drives.

Fabio Corrêa, a prosecutor targeting organised crime in Rio, notes how these efforts masked the game’s darker realities.

“They built a playful, fun facade,” he says, “to appear like good Samaritans.”

However, the game’s analogue nature is now a disadvantage. With only six draws a day, it pales in comparison to the endless opportunities offered by digital gambling.

“The animal lottery hasn’t been able to renew its base,” explains Rio historian Luiz Antonio Simas, who has written extensively about the game.

Losing its hold

Despite its decline, jogo do bicho still holds sentimental value for many.

In Vila Isabel, where the game began, retirees like Germano da Silva, 71, remain loyal players.

“I always bet on the pig or the tiger,” he says, proudly displaying a recent ticket that earned him US$450.

Yet, even he notes that younger generations are less inclined to participate.

For those unfamiliar, the game’s rules can seem complex.

Players bet on combinations of numbers linked to 25 animals, from cows to monkeys. Wagers start small but can lead to hefty payouts.

According to Simas, however, most people play for modest gains.

“They’re not hoping to get rich,” he says. “It’s part of street culture.”

Dreams, lucky animals and significant dates often guide players’ bets.

For Nena Coelho, a 60-year-old secretary, a recent wager on the dog was inspired by a stray that followed her friend home.

Perils of digital gambling

Digital gambling’s rapid growth comes with significant risks.

Brazil’s lax oversight has allowed unregulated platforms, including fraudulent ones, to flourish.

Social media influencers often promote these apps, luring low-income players with promises of quick wealth. Some influencers have even faced arrest for endorsing unauthorised platforms.

A government study estimates that nearly a quarter of Brazil’s 203 million people have gambled online in the past five years.

The country’s central bank reports that Brazilians now spend roughly US$3.5bil monthly on online wagers, with football betting comprising a significant portion in this sports-obsessed nation.

Efforts to regulate the industry are under way. New laws require betting companies to pay licensing fees and adhere to federal rules addressing fraud, responsible marketing and money laundering.

Yet challenges remain. Lottery bosses, authorities say, are now laundering money through legal digital platforms, giving illicit earnings a veneer of legitimacy.

“They are infiltrating the digital space,” says Correa. “It’s about making illegal activities appear legal.”

Nostalgia amid change

Despite the dominance of digital platforms, some Brazilians cling to the traditions of the animal lottery.

Matheus Resende, 30, recalls how his father taught him to calculate odds and craft bets. Today, while he places online wagers on football, he still visits his local bookie weekly.

“It’s a family tradition,” he says, “and there’s a certain nostalgia to it.”

For Resende and others, the game’s decline signals the end of an era, one where street corners buzzed with anticipation and dreams translated into wagers.

As Brazil’s gambling landscape evolves, the jogo do bicho may fade into history, a casualty of the relentless march of technology. — ©2025 The New York Times Company

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