Brazil Betting Group Rejects Study Linking Gambling to Student Dropouts

A new study on the impact of online gambling on education in Brazil has sparked criticism from the country’s betting industry. The National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL) pushed back against claims that gambling is stopping millions of young Brazilians from pursuing higher education, calling the conclusions unfair and misleading.

Good to know

• ANJL says the gambling sector should not be blamed for broader education challenges.
• ABMES study claimed 2.9 million students may skip private college due to gambling-related financial strain.
• ANJL pointed out that 79% of students said gambling did not stop them from investing in their studies.

The debate kicked off after the Brazilian Association of Higher Education Providers (ABMES) published a report called The Impact of Betting on Higher Education. One headline figure claimed that up to 2.9 million potential students might not enroll in private universities in the first half of 2026, largely due to income issues tied to gambling habits.

Among students surveyed, 34% admitted they would have needed to stop gambling in order to begin their studies in the first semester of 2025. The study also noted that 14% of those already enrolled in college had either fallen behind on tuition or dropped out entirely due to betting expenses.

In response, ANJL released a statement rejecting what it described as a “constructed narrative” that places blame on the online betting sector for social and economic issues that affect Brazilians. The group said:

“There is no direct relationship between gambling two to three times a week and dropping out of or continuing a higher education programme, as the survey and report suggest.”

Gambling body questions survey structure and messaging

ANJL pointed to other data from the same study that it says was left out of public discussion. Specifically, 79% of respondents answered “no” when asked if gambling had prevented them from investing in a university course or other higher education.

The group also highlighted a finding that more than 70% of participants said they recovered money spent on gambling when they played again—though this part of the report was not featured in the media coverage.

“Constructing narratives that propagate the misguided behaviour of a minority as if it were widespread only harms the sector and Brazilian society itself,” ANJL said in its note.

They also stressed that gambling is part of the entertainment industry and competes with other pastimes for people’s disposable income.

Spending habits differ by income class, but ANJL says issue is overstated

The ABMES report broke down spending by income class, showing that students in the wealthiest bracket (class A) spent an average of BRL1,210 per month on gambling. Meanwhile, those in the lowest income groups (classes D and E) spent around BRL421. However, ANJL noted that across all brackets, most people spent less than 5% of their total income on betting.

ABMES general director Paulo Chanan stood by the report’s conclusions, saying that online gambling had become “an additional obstacle to accessing higher education” and called for more public policy to educate young people on gambling risks.

The back-and-forth highlights ongoing tensions between Brazil’s growing betting industry and education advocates. As online gambling becomes more widespread, so too does the debate over its social effects.

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