With the Brazilian online gambling market firmly on its way to regulated maturity, insights into consumer profiles and needs have acquired even more value. The overall user experience (UX) is key to 44% of Brazilian players when choosing a new online gambling operator.
As a growing form of digital entertainment, online casinos have dedicated a lot of resources and applied research to improve the player journey – from registration and gameplay to resolving technical issues through customer support (CS). Understanding UX and optimizing platform functionality is indispensable from a business point of view, and decisive for online gamers.
This study aims to examine the efficiency and usability of licensed online casino and sports betting sites in Brazil. It evaluates the complete user journey – from registration, through gameplay and transactions, all the way to the efficiency of user support when evoked. Last but not least, we look at the policies and tools dedicated to Responsible Gaming (RG).
Our research team conducted a series of rigorous tests covering key stages of the gaming experience. In order to maintain a neutral and transparent point of view, everything was recorded in detail.
Methodology
This comparative study analyzes the performance of different online gambling operators in Brazil, particularly in relation to the UX they manage to deliver to an average Brazilian player. We focused on evaluating key factors that affect player satisfaction, assessing how users interact with the platforms.
In order to do this, we have tested first-hand 13 of the leading online casino brands in Brazil (listed in alphabetical order below):
- Aposta Ganha
- Bet365
- Betano
- Betfair
- Betnacional
- Blaze
- Esportes da Sorte
- EstrelaBet
- KTO
- Novibet
- Pixbet
- Sportingbet
- Superbet
Evaluation Metrics
Our approach simulated an all-around user journey – registration, gameplay, payments, issues resolution with customer support and responsible gaming initiatives. The following criteria were used:
- Registration
- Ease of sign-up
- Registering Bank Account
- Deposit
- Gaming Experience: navigation & gameplay
- Game and Providers Selection
- Bet Placement
- Payments
- Withdrawal Performance
- Customer Support
- Ease of Access and Work Hours
- FAQ Depth
- CS Channels
- CS Response Time
- Problem Resolution
- Accessibility to Human Support
- Responsible Gaming: tools & initiatives
- Deposit Limits
- Bet/loss Limits
- Session Limits/Time Alerts
- Self-Exclusion
- Player History
- Self-Assessment Test
- Customer Support Approach
How Easy Is It to Register at Online Casinos in Brazil?
As of January 1, 2025, Brazil has implemented new online betting regulations that focus on consumer safety and stricter oversight in the iGaming sector.
As per an earlier case study we did (on the motives and benefits of the new framework), regulators introduced a number of demanding standards, such as: facial recognition, registering a valid bank account, verifying geolocation and a time limit for withdrawals.
Our research team analyzed the new registration process at the selected 13 gaming operators, step by step. We evaluated key aspects affecting new player signup: ease of account set up, KYC verification, bank account registration and depositing. The brands were rated on a scale from 0 to 10, based on the quality of the experience.
Ease of Sign-up & KYC Verification
Five brands stand out offering the most user-friendly registration: KTO, Betnacional, EstrelaBet, Pixbet and Superbet. The verification process at KTO, Superbet, and Betnacional was smooth and efficient, allowing users to start playing without delays.
Pixbet adopted a different approach that also worked very well. Even when the process is done on a desktop, the system redirects users to complete document uploads and facial verification via QR code on their mobile device.
Unlike any other competitors on the above list, EstrelaBet performs the KYC process during the first deposit stage.
For all the rest, the following problems were encountered.
- Novibet had slight problems with autofill and ID verification, as did Sportingbet, but still a good experience for both.
- Esportes da Sorte, despite its simplicity, was incomplete. It didn’t ask for any documents, just the selfie. Blaze also had a simple process, but the email and SMS verification were not mandatory for playing and making a deposit.
- Bet365 and Betfair provided a solid experience, with the exception of the desktop-related issues and geolocation failures, respectively.
- Aposta Ganha and Betano had the most challenging signups, requiring multiple attempts. Betano’s face verification process proved particularly difficult, while Aposta Ganha had problems delivering the email verification code.
Bank Account Registration Across Online Casinos
When it came to adding a bank account, as many as 8 of the 13 operators tested received the highest score (10). The process was the same, asking for basic information such as bank, sort code and account type. Nothing different from any other online purchase, making the experience intuitive and familiar for users.
On the other hand, Esportes da Sorte and Blaze 2 operators do not direct the user to a bank account registration flow, though transactions can still be performed using PIX.
Bet365 and EstrelaBet face the same issue. Bank account registration was not possible via desktop, and the mobile platform experienced glitches, leading to scores of 8 and 7, respectively.
Aposta Ganha showed some bugs and required a few attempts to enable the bank registration field. Also, the bank account details were not asked during registration, only during the deposit.
Deposit: Speed and Efficiency
Most brands have a simple and smooth process for depositing, with money being credited to the platform almost instantly.
Betano continues to face the same problem from the registration stage – its complex facial recognition process. Meanwhile, EstrelaBet had issues loading on mobile and failed to work on desktop.
Compared to the other brands, Bet365 provided the most challenging experience at this stage, leading to a score of 4/10. Deposits were not possible via desktop, and even on mobile, frequent logouts disrupted the process.
Navigation: games & betting experience in Brazilian Online Casinos
For an online betting platform, offering a wide variety of games is indispensable to player satisfaction. In addition to variety, ease of use and clarity in the betting process are important to ensure quality.
Our in-depth analysis evaluated these key factors, assessing how each platform delivers their betting experience.
How Diverse is the Game Selection?
As discussed in previous study, Law 14.790/2023 legalizes online games as a category of fixed-odds betting lotteries in Brazil.To operate legally in Brazilian casinos, a game must be certified by laboratories accredited by the Ministry of Finance and meet official standards. These laboratories are responsible for verifying compliance, ensuring that games adhere to legal requirements.
During our testing, we explored the online casino operators and evaluated the variety of games offered by each one of them. In order to do this, we selected 8 providers and 25 games to check their availability on the websites.
The selection of game providers varies greatly between casinos, as shown below.
KTO and Novibet stand out with an impressive selection, covering all providers analyzed.
Betano and EstrelaBet also perform well, covering 7 of them. Meanwhile, Sportingbet and Superbet have 6 of the providers on their sites.
Then we have Betfair and Betnacional offering only half of the providers analyzed, while the remaining brands include around five.
Beyond provider availability, our tests also included the variety of games offered by the 13 online casino brands analyzed. We considered a selection of 25 games to assess their availability on each platform, ensuring a comprehensive analysis.
Esportes da Sorte and KTO have the most extensive games selection among the operators. They cover 92% and 88% of the games tested, respectively.
Betano, Betnacional, Pixbet and Sportingbet also offer a good variety, but they are missing some titles on their platforms.
Although Blaze and Novibet have more than half of the games selected, Bet365 and Betfair fall short, offering a limited game selection.
Betting Experience and User-Friendliness
To evaluate the players experience, we also recorded observations regarding the performance of casino games and sports betting when placing a bet. They were rated from 0 to 10, based on their performance and user-friendliness.
Most operators excel in bet placement, making it one of their strengths. We can see that 10 of the brands have maximum scores for bet placement, which indicates a satisfactory gaming experience.
One exception is Aposta Ganha, which has a complex and confusing betting process. Its lack of clear organization leads to a frustrating user experience, resulting in a lower score compared to other operators.
Meanwhile, Esportes da Sorte and Sportingbet received slightly lower ratings, mainly due to glitches in the betting process.
Payment Processing and User Experience in Brazilian Online Casinos
The ease and speed of withdrawals play a crucial role in the overall player experience. According to deposit and withdrawal tests we conducted in 2024, fast and intuitive transactions give operators a competitive advantage, ensuring player satisfaction and trust.
We analysed the withdrawal process across 13 selected brands, focusing on how quickly and easy the player interacts with this stage of the user journey.
In terms of speed, Betano, Betnacional, KTO and Sportingbet stand out with instant payment processing.
Esportes da Sorte, EstrelaBet and Pixbet successfully transferred the money in about 1 minute. On the other hand, it took 1 hour for Betfair and 18 hours for Blaze to complete the payment process.
It is important to note that speed is not the only factor that defines a good withdrawal process. That is why our team also evaluated the overall experience.
Fortunately for players, most platforms delivered a smooth and efficient withdrawal process during our tests. Betnacional, KTO and Sportingbet stand out with maximum scores and instant payouts.
Betano processed withdrawals quickly, but the experience was challenging due to facial recognition. EstrelaBet also had issues, requiring five attempts to successfully complete a withdrawal.
Meanwhile, Aposta Ganha has a different system, where players have a separate balance available for withdrawals. In order to make funds available for withdrawal, players must first wager the amount, which significantly limits flexibility in both betting and withdrawing.
Analyzing Customer Support Touchpoints of Online Casinos in Brazil
Even if the user had a great experience throughout their journey, reliable support is indispensable to ensure long-term player loyalty.
Therefore, this part of our analysis focuses on evaluating the customer support quality of the selected online casino brands.
To ensure a comprehensive evaluation, we tested key aspects as the ease of access, depth of FAQs, available channels, response time, accessibility to human support and problem resolution.
How Easy is it to Find Customer Support Links?
We rated the 13 brands based on how easily users can find customer support and FAQ links across indexes, menus and footers. Besides that, our analysis covers accessibility during casino gaming, sports betting and while logged out.
Accessing support links while logged out was standard for all operators, but most required identification when initiating a live chat.
Betfair, KTO and Blaze received the higher scores, offering easy access to support despite some inconsistencies between mobile and desktop versions.
As the tests were carried out by different individuals at different times, we ensured a well-rounded perspective. Bet365, Novibet, Aposta Ganha, EstrelaBet, Pixbet, Esportes da Sorte and Superbet delivered a solid experience, but still have room for improvement in terms of support link visibility.
Betano, Betnacional and Sportingbet left a lot to be desired, as they failed to provide support links across at least three key touchpoints. This highlights the need for more strategic and visible placement of support links.
Online Casino FAQs: How Informative and Helpful Are They?
A well-structured FAQ should ensure that users can find the help they need in a didactic and self-explanatory way. Of course, users should have easy access to a human attendant, but they should also be able to identify their issues and resolve them independently if they prefer.
For online casino platforms, it is crucial that the FAQ address questions about recent regulatory changes, account registration, casino and sports betting terminology, payments, how-to’s and other.
It is impressive to see that Betano and KTO cover all the topics analysed in our tests. Superbet and EstrelaBet followed closely behind, scoring very well. These operators have a complete and well-organised FAQ and are able to give the user a great deal of autonomy.
KTO goes a step further by including a casino and sports betting glossary, which can be very helpful for beginners, but also for recurring questions. It is strategically placed in the FAQ, ensuring accessibility.
Some brands fail to provide relevant and comprehensive information on some of the topics. This is the case of Novibet, even though the platform has a highly detailed betting dictionary with useful terminology.
Bet365, Betfair, Blaze, Aposta Ganha, Novibet and Sportingbet also lack depth in certain topics, but they do cover migration and registration issues.
For the last three brands, we were not able to find enough information on the majority of the topics. Pixbet does not have a FAQ on its website and Esportes da Sorte does not provide in-depth information on basic topics.
Additionally, we found no FAQ on Betnacional website, only some tutorial videos on YouTube. This approach may be inconvenient for users seeking quick answers.
Customer Support Channels and Availability
We tested the customer support channels available on 13 online casino websites in Brazil to assess variety, response time, working hours, accessibility to human support and ability to resolve problems.
There are several ways in which the user can request support, both online and offline. For this test, we specifically analysed the availability of live chat, email, phone, WhatsApp, social media, YouTube and other specific.
Live chat is standard, while WhatsApp isn’t used by the listed operators for support. In some cases, it can be used exclusively for the announcements of promotions.
In terms of alternative support channels, 6 platforms provide support content on YouTube. It is the most common external resource beyond the website.
During the tests, Betnacional had the most complete range of support channels. On the other hand, Bet365, Esportes da Sorte, Superbet and Blaze offered about half of the tested channels.
At times during the tests, all of Sportingbet’s support channels were unavailable, which resulted in a lower score.
Meanwhile, Betano, EstrelaBet, Novibet, Betfair, Pixbet, Aposta Ganha and KTO lacked one or two of the listed. However, they still have a variety of options for users to get help when needed.
CS Response Time & Work Hours
We rigorously tested the CS channels of the selected brands at different times to ensure a fair and objective comparison. Considering that almost all of the brands offer a 24/7 live chat, the user should be able to reach them for help at any given time.
Getting help from Bet365 and Blaze was quick and easy. Notably, Blaze does not have a chatbot and the interactions are handled directly by a human attendant.
Betano, Betfair, Superbet, Pixbet, Novibet and Aposta Ganha provided inconsistent experiences during our testing. Some interactions were quick and others were moderately slow, indicating differences in response times.
Betnacional, KTO and Sportingbet delivered an average performance. There is room for improvement, but the overall experience was decent.
Combining their inconsistent performance and the long wait times to reach a human operator, Esportes da Sorte and EstrelaBet still have to enhance the support experience. In fact, Esportes da Sorte was the only platform where we could not find information about CS working hours.
Accessibility to Human Support in Online Casinos
When users face an issue or have a question about some topic, they need a fast and easy way to get support.
Live chat is a standard option across platforms, usually starting with a chatbot. You can then request a human agent or be automatically transferred if the problem is unresolved.
In our analysis, Betfair, Superbet, Novibet, Pixbet, Aposta Ganha and KTO stood out for their efficient transition from chatbot to human support.
Betano, Bet365 and Betnacional all had moderate performances, ranking somewhere in the middle – neither the best nor the worst.
Sportingbet, EstrelaBet and Blaze offered varying support experiences, leading to lower scores. At one point, all of Sportingbet’s customer support channels were unavailable.
Despite offering direct human support, Blaze queue was very long, negatively impacting the experience.
Analysing Problem Resolution: How Well Do Casinos Handle Player Issues?
In addition to offering accessible support channels and a good experience when reaching human support, online casino operators must also be prepared to resolve basic issues.
With this in mind, we tested the ability of the 13 brands analysed to resolve queries about six key topics: registration/account, payments, bonuses, legality/scams, miscellaneous and responsible gaming.
Betfair, Betnacional and EstrelaBet excelled in addressing user queries. Likewise, Aposta Ganha and KTO met our expectations by providing comprehensive answers to various questions.
Superbet, Blaze, Novibet and Bet365 lacked depth on a few topics but still offered decent coverage.
Overall, we found the answers we needed and the brands performed well in this evaluation. Even the last three, Betano, Esportes da Sorte and Pixbet, managed to address most inquiries.
Responsible Gaming Tools and Initiatives for Player Protection
In a previous study, we discussed the importance of Responsible Gaming tools and initiatives on online casino platforms, especially to ensure the perception of fairness by the users.
User accounts should have features that allow them to set limits and, as a crucial part of the user experience, customer support should be prepared to handle questions and concerns about this.
Responsible Gaming Tools of Online Casinos in Brazil
To assess how well online casinos support users facing a gambling problem, we checked for key Responsible Gaming tools and their accessibility:
- Deposit Limits
- Bet/Loss Limits
- Session Limits or Time Alerts
- Self-Exclusion
- Player History
- Self-Assessment Test
Aposta Ganha and KTO were the best platforms tested. You can set various limits, review your gaming history and even take a self-assessment test.
Bet365 and Betnacional also performed well, with a complete range of tools to help users in managing gambling problems.
In general, the brands offer a comprehensive set of RG features, but some of them can be difficult to access.
Blaze stands out negatively as most of the features were not easily accessible. Based on our evaluation, this platform does not meet the standards to effectively support users with risky behaviour.
RG Information & Customer Support Approach
Fortunately, all brands have a dedicated responsible gaming page or section. While some are more comprehensive than others, these pages often explain the available tools and include links to helpful organizations.
In terms of accessibility to RG information, availability of tools and links to external organizations, KTO and Aposta Ganha were the best.
While Novibet did not stand out in any particular aspect,it has one of the most complete RG pages, accessible when logged out. It includes control tools, warning signs and helpful links.
It is also worth noting that EstrelaBet offers its own free specialist psychological support channel and Superbet has a pop-up about RG with the option to set limits.
To assess how well the brands handle RG-related inquiries, we also tested the human attendant responsiveness to RG issues. Our tests were conducted by different people and at different times.
EstrelaBet, Betfair and Aposta Ganha requested user identification at the beginning of the chat. However, the support was really detailed and thoughtful, making them our best experiences in this evaluation.
Bet365 and KTO responded with the available tools and links to the respective RG pages, but the reply could have been a bit more detailed. Also, in the case of Bet365, there was a requirement for identification in order to get help.
Sportingbet, Esportes da Sorte and Pixbet replied with a list of available limits and instructions on how to set them. It was helpful but lacked some depth to the information. Similarly, Betnacional shared an overview of RG tools, but failed to explain where they could be found.
Betano had friendly support, but no responsible gaming resources were provided. Blaze delivered an unsatisfactory experience, with the attendant merely recommending seeking professional help, rather than offering platform solutions.
Top-Performing Brazil Online Casinos
This study enabled us to evaluate key aspects of the user experience, including registration, platform navigation, payment processing, customer support accessibility and responsible gaming initiatives.
As a result of our analysis, we have identified the top-performing Brazilian online casinos that delivered the best experience throughout the users journey.
KTO Is the Standout Brand
KTO has proven to be the best option in terms of user experience, starting with the registration process – smooth KYC verification and easy bank account registration. From there, a full range of games and providers ensure variety, along with a user-friendly betting experience.
At the end of the journey, the user finds reliable customer support: it is accessible, the FAQ is complete and it is easy to speak to a human attendant. In case of problems with RG, the dedicated page on responsible gaming is filled with helpful information and guidance.
Novibet Comes Close Second
Novibet comes in second place, guaranteeing a strong start with a user-friendly registration process. Throughout the journey, the user can also rely on having a wide variety of providers and an easy betting experience.
When it comes to the payment process, the brand maintains the quality of the user experience. Additionally, when human support is needed, users can quickly reach an attendant to resolve their issues.
Superbet Completes the Podium
Superbet secured third place with a user-friendly registration, deposit, bank account setup and withdrawal process. As for the navigation experience, while the platform could improve in terms of support link visibility, the betting process is smooth.
Regarding users queries, the platform fell short in support channels availability, but users can expect easy access to a human attendant and a comprehensive FAQ section.
Understanding and analyzing the user journey is essential to drive targeted optimization in product development. Based on our testing, Brazilian online casinos show both strengths and weaknesses, but there is always room for improvement.
A great user experience and efficient customer support are key factors in the maintenance of competitiveness. Not only do they attract new players, but they also strengthen the relationship between the brand and the customer, building trust and long-term loyalty.
