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YouTube is the second most popular social media platform in the world after Facebook. But while Brazil is home to its third largest audience in the global market, YouTube is also the second most important information source for Brazilians after WhatsApp.
When it comes to active online gamblers, though, a larger share – 46% – uses YouTube rather than WhatsApp. As much as 29% use it to stay up to date on sports betting, the fastest growing gaming segment in the nation. Additionally, YouTube has the highest concentration of time spent, making it the social media platform with the widest reach in Brazil with 96.4% of total users.
Given this popularity and use cases closely related to online gaming, our study will analyze data from YouTube more closely and will present findings on content and trends related to the top 10 gambling brands in Brazil. Our aim is to evaluate public sentiment and rank gambling content posted on Google’s main video-sharing platform.
Key Takeaways
- Sportingbet’s channel has the highest total number of views – 36% – followed by Esportes da Sorte – 25.5% – and Betnacional – 17%.
- KTO has the channel with the most subscribers – 56% – followed by Esportes da Sorte – 18% – and Betano – 9%.
- Betano has the largest share of likes – 48% – while Sportingbet and KTO rank second, with 14% each.
- Esportes da Sorte takes first place in number of comments – 85% – followed by KTO in second place – 4% – and Betfair in third – 3%.
- In terms of most-viewed videos on each channel, Pixbet has the highest rate of positive comments – 74.9% – followed by KTO – 3.7% – and Esportes da Sorte – 2.7%.
- Likewise, Esportes da Sorte has the highest share of negative comments – 40%. Sportingbet ranks second – 30% – and Betfair is third place – 13%.
Methodology
Our study draws on ENV Media’s research into the operators’ share of voice (SoV) in the Brazilian iGaming market. We also used YouTube Data Tools to collect data and provide insights into the overall sentiment towards gambling brands. In order to assess interest in related topics on YouTube specifically, we used Google Trends and Casinolytics.
The Brazilian YouTube Audience
Due to the key role that social media plays in Brazilians daily lives, this social media audience is highly engaged.
No wonder that in July 2024, Brazil became the third largest YouTube audience in the world, after India and the United States, with 147 million users – or 89% of the total 165.46 million Brazilian social media users.
Source: Statista
Crucially, YouTube is not just a social media platform, but a search engine like its parent Google. Indeed, it ranks as the world’s second most popular search engine. Differently from other social media platforms, most searches at YouTube – 85% – are fairly intentional, knowledgeable.
Consequently, according to the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism 2024 report, YouTube is the second major source of general information for Brazilians, just behind WhatsApp at 4%. For news specifically, both platforms attract the same share of Brazilians – 38%.
Source: Digital News Report 2024
Particularly relevant when it comes to iGaming, YouTube has more adults over 18 watching the platform than any of the most popular TV channels in the country. In this sense, 80% of football fans watch YouTube videos on a weekly basis, and the same is true for other sports, as seen during the live streaming of the 2024 Olympics.
Additionally, ENV Media research revealed that sports betting is considered the most engaging vertical by Brazilian gamblers, with 94% of them preferring to bet on football.
Since this audience is highly active, with 50% betting on a weekly basis and 46% specifically turning to YouTube to improve their knowledge and skills, it is very likely that sports bettors are part of the platform sports audience.
Source: ENV Media
According to Casinolytics, the YouTube audience specifically interested in gambling topics had reached up to 4,789,457 in August 2024. This massive, intentional reach demonstrates why running a YouTube channel is a must for gambling brands.
YouTube’s recommendation system and public metrics
Based on algorithms – simply put, a set of instructions for the performance of tasks – YouTube’s recommendation system promotes content by predicting which videos users are more likely to interact with.
The process includes not only an individual’s viewing history, but also the number of subscribers to a particular channel, as well as the number of views, likes, and shares of a given video.
Comments, watch time, and click-through rate (CTR) – the number of times a video is clicked – are other engagement indicators. However, the latter two, as well as shares, are private to the platform and the content creators themselves and thus cannot be analyzed.
As a result, YouTube’s various engagement metrics were evaluated individually and made comparable in order to address the disparity between them.
YouTube presence of the top 10 gambling brands in Brazil
Only Bet365 and Novibet are not on YouTube out of the top 10 online casino and sports betting operators in Brazil.
| Brand | Date of creation | Channel url |
| Betano | May 13, 2020 | @BetanoBrasil |
| Betnacional | February 14, 2023 | @bet.nacional |
| Sportingbet | May 6, 2019 | @SportingbetBR |
| Pixbet | July 4, 2023 | @pixbetoficial |
| Betfair | February 20, 2020 | @Betfairnet |
| KTO | June 19, 2018 | @TeamKTO |
| Esportes da Sorte | March 25,2021 | @esportesdasorteoficial |
| Parimatch | June 22, 2022 | @parimatchbrasil |
TV Leão Novibet, the channel of the Fortaleza soccer team sponsored by Novibet, has the brand in its title, but other than that and the logo on the team’s jerseys, the brand is not mentioned.
For its part, Bet365 has not yet jumped on the platform, although the brand is mentioned in at least 59,000 videos from different 5,300 channels on YouTube. Thus, neither Novibet nor Bet365 can not be considered for the purposes of this study.
It is also important to note that social media is inherently volatile. Depending on the actions of content creators, users, or algorithms, content can rise or fall in popularity or even be deleted at any time.
Therefore, the current analysis must be viewed as a snapshot of the top gambling brands on YouTube, at a particular point in time.
Analysis of the most popular videos on each channel
Ranking channels based on numbers alone ignores other important indicators of engagement that makes a channel relevant to its audience.
Therefore, to better understand the dynamics of engagement on each channel, we collected full data on their most viewed videos.
At the time of writing, these were as follows:
| Brand | Most popular video | Views | Comments | Likes | Release date |
| Sportingbet | Entra confiante no jogo (Enter the game confidently) | 23,000,000 | 43 | 107,000 | March 31, 2024. |
| Betnacional | Ousadia e Profecia (Daring & Prophecy) | 13,000,000 | 12 | 58 | April 21, 2024. |
| Esportes da Sorte | É muito mais que bet (It’s much more than betting) | 11,000,000 | 48 | 37,000 | October 30, 2023. |
| Betfair | Vem pro jogo, vem com a Betfair (Come to the game with Betfair). | 3,229,972 | 25 | 3,200 | June 12, 2024. |
| Betano | Intervalo Betano (Match break Betano) | 681,000 | 1 | 6 | October 2, 2024. |
| KTO* | Além das Linhas: EP 02 Luana Maluf (Beyond the lines feat. Luana Maluf) | 144,000 | 26 | 1,300 | November 13, 2024. |
| Pixbet* | Se joga na NBA (Check out NBA) | 1,000 | 725 | 152 | October 30, 2024. |
| Parimatch | “Eles Jogam, Você Ganha” (They Play, You Win) | 423 | 2 | 9 | May 7, 2024. |
With the exception of Pixbet and KTO, all of these popular videos consist of commercials that were previously filmed for and aired on television.
Differently, Pixbet’s video is a promotion where influencer Rafa Lira is in Orlando to attend an NBA game. KTO’s is the second episode of their sports podcast, featuring Luana Maluf, a widely known São Paulo football commentator. Thus, both brands produced content specifically planned and formatted for the platform.
Ranking by number of comments
Next brands are ranked by the number of comments each video has received, along with the number of likes.
As a result, Pixbet’s video on the US National Basketball Association game had more comments than any other video on football.
| Brands | Comments | Likes |
| Pixbet | 82.2% | 1% |
| Esportes da Sorte | 5.4% | 18% |
| Sportingbet | 4.8% | 52% |
| KTO | 2.9% | 1% |
| Betfair | 2.8% | 2% |
| Betnacional | 1.3% | 28% |
| Parimatch | 0.2% | 0% |
| Betano | 0.1% | 0% |
In terms of the total number of likes, Sportingbet is first place with 52% and Betnacional comes second with 28%. Esportes da Sorte is third with 18%.
From this perspective, KTO is fifth place with 1%, but now together with Pixbet, both pushing Betano one position lower. For its part, fourth in number of views, Betano joins Parimatch in the bottom positions.
Usually at the bottom together with Parimatch, Pixbet is by far the first – 82.2% – when it comes to the number of comments on one single video.
At a significant distance, Esportes da Sorte ranks second – 5.4% – followed by Sportingbet with 4.8%, thus dropping from the first place in views and likes to third.
Otherwisely, KTO ranks fourth – 2.9% – climbing from sixth in number of views and fifth in number of likes. From the perspective of the number of comments, the top overall brands are not only outranked by Pixbet, but also battle it out with KTO and Betfair – 2.8%.
Online Gambling Content on YouTube – User Sentiment analysis
As the sentiment expressed in the comments is representative of the relationship between the gambling brands, we extracted comments from the most viewed videos and analyzed them using Google Sheets.
In order to estimate the sentiment towards the gambling brands, the comments – when available – were collected and categorized according to the following criteria:
- Positive comments: express a positive sentiment about the brand itself or branded content, either through text, emojis or interaction with other users or the brand.
- Negative comments: express a negative sentiment about the brand itself or branded content, either through text, emojis, interaction with other users or the brand or unmoderated fraudulent advertising by third parties.
- Questions: express doubts or concern about any of the processes involved in online gambling (i.e. withdrawals, deposits, limits, registration documents, etc.).
Comments that did not fit into any of these categories or did not make sense were not included. Similarly, repeated comments from the same user or more than one line were counted as a single comment.
In the case of Pixbet, for example, the 725 comments on their most viewed video were posted by 275 unique users. Therefore, 450 comments were considered valid for this analysis.
In addition, as shown next, high numbers of views or comments do not account for positive sentiment, which varies widely from brand to brand.
Positive User Sentiment
According to the nature of comments collected for each channel’s most viewed videos, the highest number of positive comments – 74.9% – were directed at Pixbet, followed by KTO – 3.7%.
As mentioned earlier, both brands planned their content with the structure of the social media network and its two-way dynamic in mind.
Pixbet’s video was actually a live game; it instructed users to identify how many times the influencer mentioned the brand, making Pixbet the absolute leader in this category.
For its part, KTO’s video is the second episode of its increasingly popular podcast launched in November 2024. Esportes da Sorte is third – 2.7% – with a TV commercial featuring famous Brazilian singer Michel Teló.
Thus, in terms of positive comments, the top two brands have invested in communicating with their audience, rather than simply uploading the same commercials seen on national television. An issue criticized in the comments on the Esportes da Sorte’s video.
Negative User Sentiment
In terms of negative sentiment, the order was reversed and the brands ranked from those with the fewest negative comments to those with the most.
To prove our point in terms of content format, KTO – 4% – ranks first as the brand with the least amount of negative comments. Pixbet is second – 6% – followed by Betnacional – 7%.
The third brand in the ranking of positive comments, Esportes da Sorte has the highest number of negative comments – 40% – followed by Sportingbet – 32% – that ranks fourth in the number of positive comments.
Therefore, assuming that those who commented were actual customers, it can be concluded that a high number of views alone does not reflect brand loyalty nor customer satisfaction.
Questions
As for doubts and concerns, the brands with videos featuring questions related to their product were ranked accordingly to their amount:
Consequently, among the most viewed videos, KTO, Parimatch, Betano and Betfair had no questions in the comment section, followed by Sportingbet with one single question related to bonuses.
In light of the July 2024 ENV media testing of customer support, it is therefore possible to estimate that, for their part, the five brands with no questions offer easier, comprehensive access to resources, with KTO ranking first in this category.
Source: ENV Media Customer Support Testing at Online Casinos: Insights on the Top 10 Brazilian Brands
Although Betnacional was not evaluated in the July 2024 customer support study, its higher proportion of questions can be understood in light of the fact that the brands studied were in line with the test results.
Top Online Gambling Tutorial Content
When it comes to learning new skills, YouTube is a relevant resource because of the abundance of tutorials on every imaginable subject. As a result, people are 3 times more likely to watch a tutorial video than reading a product manual.
As mentioned earlier, since the largest group of sports bettors rely on YouTube videos to learn about sports betting, tutorials should play an important part on any gambling brand channel.
Comprehensive tutorials are even more important due to the presence of scammers claiming to offer schemes and tricks to explore breaches in online sports betting platforms.
However, using Google Trends to track interest in such videos on YouTube, we found that most gamblers are looking for sports betting tips (green) rather than alleged hacks (blue), ways to make money on sports betting (red), or more specifically, how to make money on sports betting in 2024 (yellow).
Source: Google Trends
In line with its quality in customer support, the channel that offers the most tutorials is KTO’s – 41.18%.
- KTO: 41.18% (21 videos)
- Betano: 19.61% (10 videos)
- Betnacional: 19.61% (10 videos)
- Esportes da Sorte: 11.76% (6 videos)
- Parimatch: 5.88% (3 videos)
- Pixbet: 1.96% (1 video)
- Sportingbet: 0% (0 videos)
- Betfair: 0% (0 videos)
Betano, which also scored well in the ENV Media test, is in second place with 19.6%, along with the unrated Betnacional. Esportes da Sorte comes next with 11.7%, ahead of Parimatch – 5.8% – which didn’t have a YouTube channel when the customer support study was conducted.
While Pixbet ranks sixth – 1.96% – neither Sportingbet nor Betfair had any tutorials available.
Thus, the following table ranks each brand most viewed tutorial video with its corresponding metrics:
| Brand | Most popular tutorial | Views | Comments | Likes |
| Betano | Aviator tutorial | 331,000 | 245 | 1500 |
| KTO | Guide to sports betting | 72,399 | 108 | 1,100 |
| Betnacional | Single bet tutorial | 8,700 | 10 | 72 |
| Pixbet | Deposits tutorial | 582 | comments were turned off | 21 |
| Parimatch | App download tutorial | 96 | 1 | 2 |
| Esportes da Sorte | Live bets tutorial | 81 | 0 | 1 |
By simply considering the titles of the most watched tutorials, it is possible to estimate a great interest both in the Aviator crash game and the different bet types, but also in basic information such as downloading a gambling app or making deposits.
Therefore, the relevance of tutorials to online gamblers was proven by the ranking itself, with Betano in first – 80.17% – followed by KTO in second – 17.54% – and Betnacional in third – 2.11%.
However, when looking at more basic information, though, Pixbet is fourth – 0.14%, ahead of both Parimatch and Esportes da Sorte, with 0.02% each. Usually one of the top brands across all metrics, as for tutorials, Esportes da Sorte ranks in the bottom three.
Regarding comments on the most popular tutorial video, Betano is in first place with 67.31%, followed by KTO with 29.67%.
A long way behind the two brands is Betnacional with 2.75% and Parimatch with 0.27%.
However, since 18.78% of comments on the Aviator tutorial consist of different questions concerning deposits, withdrawals and registration documents, only 3.27% were answered by Betano’s moderator.
As for KTO, 42.59% of the comments are questions, all answered by the brand but 3.52%. Also unlike Betano, concerns are addressed and customers are invited to a chat where their doubts can be further explained.
On the Betnacional single bet tutorial, 64.29% of the comments consist of questions. Of these, 23.81% are answered by the moderator, who also invited users for a support chat.
Top 10 Online Betting Operators on YouTube – Overall Channel Performance
With few exceptions, the total metrics achieved by each channel mirror those of their most viewed videos.
| Brand | Subscribers | Videos | Total Views |
| Betano | 22,600 | 263 | 19,091,410 |
| Betnacional | 10,800 | 41 | 15,170,927 |
| Sportingbet | 5,770 | 226 | 31,914,535 |
| Pixbet | 1,060 | 291 | 238,876 |
| Betfair | 17,800 | 332 | 9,274,690 |
| KTO | 132,000 | 153 | 1,258,781 |
| Esportes da Sorte | 45,500 | 653 | 22,870,643 |
| Parimatch | 691 | 82 | 158,968 |
By analyzing the sample of the most viewed videos, we have unlocked dynamics that are not explicit in the overall metrics.
However, assessing the total number of views, comments, subscriptions, and likes for each channel revealed a different context.
How the Top 10 Rank in YouTube Views?
As for the share of total views – and regardless of the number of videos posted on each analyzed channel – Sportingbet is in first place with 32%, followed by Esportes da Sorte – 23% – and Betano – 19%.
- Sportingbet: 32%
- Esportes da Sorte: 23%
- Betano: 19%
- Betnacional: 15%
- Betfair: 9%
- KTO: 1%
- Pixbet: 0%
- Parimatch: 0%
Regularity is key to managing any brand’s social media account. Still, the fact that Sportingbet uploaded 226 videos and Esportes da Sorte uploaded 653 – with no substantial difference between them in this ranking – illustrates the irrelevance of video volume per se.
Betnacional ranks fourth – 15% – with Betfair in fifth – 9% – and KTO trailing with 1%. Both Pixbet and Parimatch are negligible with 0%.
The Top 10 Gambling Site YouTube Channels Rated by Subscriptions
On the other hand, when looking at subscriptions, which indicate a closer connection between brands and their customers, KTO – the first to start exploring YouTube in 2018 – is also the most subscribed channel, with an impressive 56% of users.
- KTO: 56%
- Esportes da Sorte: 19%
- Betano: 10%
- Betfair: 8%
- Betnacional: 5%
- Sportingbet: 2%
- Pixbet: 0%
- Parimatch: 0%
At a significant distance from the leader in this category, Esportes da Sorte comes next, with 19%, followed by Betano at 10%.
Whereas Esportes da Sorte performs consistently, maintaining its second position in both rankings, KTO is sixth in views but climbs to first in subscriptions. Likewise, Sportingbet ranks first in views but drops to sixth in subscriptions. Betfair comes fourth – 8% – pushing Betnacional – 5% – one position lower to fifth.
When comparing views and subscriptions, the question is no longer how many, but who is watching the content. Subscribers can be distinguished as part of a target audience, but generic viewers cannot be accounted for as such without visible indicators of their relationship to the brand.
The Top 10 Gambling Site YouTube Channels Rated by Likes
Third in number of views and subscriptions, Betano rises to first in likes – 48% – followed at a distance by both Sportingbet and KTO tied for second with 14% each.
- Betano: 48%
- Sportingbet: 14%
- KTO: 14%
- Esportes da Sorte: 12%
- Betnacional: 9%
- Pixbet: 1%
- Betfair: 1%
- Parimatch: 1%
Again, brand loyalty is in action as KTO, sixth in views, ties in second place with Sportingbet, first in views. However, Esportes da Sorte falls to fourth place with 12%, once again showing that views alone do not reflect the sentiment towards the brand.
The Top 10 Gambling Site YouTube Channels Rated by Comments
When looking at the number of comments, Esportes da Sorte is in first place with a staggering 85%.
- Esportes da Sorte: 85%
- KTO: 4%
- Betfair: 3%
- Pixbet: 3%
- Betano: 2%
- Betnacional: 2%
- Sportingbet: 1%
- Parimatch: 1%
Corroborating its consistent performance in terms of engagement, KTO is also second in number of likes – 4% – followed by both Pixbet and Betfair with 3%.
Considering that both Pixbet and Parimatch perform poorly across other metrics, interestingly, Sportingbet ranks seventh – 1% – in number of comments, together with Parimatch.
Therefore, in a metrics comparison, a channel with the most views may not be the most relevant. Channels with fewer views may have higher engagement and a stronger connection with their audience.
The exception is Parimatch, for Pixbet at least ranks well in the number of comments. Parimatch maintains a flat ranking position regardless of the perspective used, suggesting that it may not attract the necessary engagement to climb higher in YouTube.
Comprehensive Ranking of Gambling Operators’ YouTube Channels in Brazil
Using the Video List feature of YouTube Data Tools, which returns the sum of statistics from a channel’s list of uploaded videos, brands were ranked according to total subscriptions, views, likes, and comments.
After calculating the share of each channel in the total sum of metrics, brands ranked as follows.
In the sum of overall statistics, Sportingbet is in first place with 49%, followed by Esportes da Sorte – 35% – and Betano – 29%.
While Betano performs consistently across all metrics, Betnacional ranks fourth in metric score – 22% – closely followed by KTO – 19%.
Ranking sixth in overall performance, Betfair is not far from KTO with 12%, however, at a notable distance from Pixbet – 4% – and Parimatch – 2%.
Thus, a new ranking emerges for the overall performance of the channels, making Sportingbet, Esportes da Sorte, Betano, Betnacional and KTO the top 5 brands on YouTube.
Informative and Engaging Content Is Key to YouTube Presence
For both online gambling brands and their customers, YouTube offers a wealth of opportunities beyond simple exposure. Success on the platform therefore depends not only on a brand’s overall visibility, but also on the relevance of the content shared for the targeted public.
As evidenced by low subscription rates and high negative sentiment, brands with excellent visibility may still struggle with loyalty from their audience. Simply replicating TV commercials on YouTube fails to exploit a dynamic, participatory environment.
Conversely, brands with lower visibility but higher engagement create content specifically for YouTube, taking into account all of its features.
The platform thrives on interaction, gamification and participation – elements that audiences have come to expect since YouTube launched in 2005. For example, in the Pixbet video, the interactive component successfully triggered 444 positive comments. This is the kind of content that audiences expect to engage with.
Therefore, prioritizing information and engagement is crucial to a strong reputation on YouTube. As evidenced by brands with higher engagement and positive sentiment from their audiences, as with any social media platform, high visibility does not always equate to a successful presence.
