Key Takeaways
- Researchers analyzed more than 55,000 Instagram accounts and found that 84% of the platform’s most-recommended betting operators were not authorized in Brazil.
- Instagram’s algorithm can lead users from a single betting account into a network of illegal operators, the study found.
- Brazil has increased platforms’ responsibility for addressing unlawful material.
After Brazil raised legal stakes for social media companies, it appears Instagram is still directing users toward a recommendation network dominated by unauthorized operators.
Following just one casino or sportsbook account can prompt Instagram to recommend a much broader illegal network of gambling profiles.
An Intercept Brasil investigation, based on research from Rede em Jogo, found that 84% of the betting operators most frequently recommended by Instagram were not authorized in Brazil.
How Instagram Leads Users Toward Illegal Betting Sites
Following one casino or sportsbook account can prompt Instagram to recommend a broader network that includes unauthorized betting operators, influencers, and gambling-focused media accounts, the research found.
Content moderation usually begins with a post, video, or when an account is reported and reviewed.
Instagram’s discovery tools operate at a different level, organizing accounts into networks based on shared subjects and user behavior.
Following a single gambling profile can therefore affect all the recommendations a user sees displayed across the platform.
In the betting market, that process can introduce users to far more than just competing sportsbooks.
The Rede em Jogo study found that recommendations led to three interconnected groups:
- gambling operators
- creators who produce betting content
- media accounts dedicated to the industry
Together, these profiles form a promotional chain capable of moving a user from casual interest to repeated exposure to gambling.
According to the findings, the 100 profiles most frequently surfaced by the platform had more than 6 million combined followers and approximately 114,000 posts.
Influencers Turn Gambling Into a Career Pitch
Across the accounts studied, gambling was frequently presented as a skill that can be developed or an investment that can be optimized.
The study found creators adopted titles such as “tipster” and “professional bettor,” giving themselves the appearance of financial or technical authority.
Many sell access to private messaging groups, automated tools, and subscription services.
Followers pay for predictions or supposedly exceptional odds, while the creator continues producing material that keeps gambling at the center of the audience’s attention.
Selective screenshots and customer testimonials reinforce that message, along with limited-time offers and claims of privileged information.
What these creators sell is not only betting advice, but the belief that they can control an unpredictable outcome.
Entertainment Helps the Message Travel
Not every gambling promotion looks like an advertisement, however.
Memes and short-form videos allow creators to blend betting recommendations with ordinary entertainment. The commercial message can become difficult to distinguish from the surrounding content.
Research from Rede em Jogo warned that this presentation can trivialize dangerous behavior.
When repeated losses and escalating stakes are treated as jokes, audiences may have greater difficulty recognizing signs of harm.
Some profiles also use familiar symbols of instant wealth, while others promote unauthorized betting operators and content promoting jogo do bicho, Brazil’s illegal animal lottery.
Brazil Tightens Rules for Big Tech
The Instagram findings come as Brazil introduces tougher rules for technology platforms.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed two decrees in May, according to Associated Press.
The first requires platforms to provide accessible reporting systems and assess complaints about possible criminal content.
It also gives Brazil’s National Data Protection Agency, known as the ANPD, power to investigate whether platforms are meeting their obligations.
Platforms can face warnings, fines, or temporary suspension if they fail to comply.
The second measure created specific rules for protecting women from online violence.
The decrees followed a major Supreme Court decision finalized on June 26, 2025, in which the court ruled that social media companies could be held liable in some cases if they failed to remove illegal user content.
It also required platforms to act against material involving hate speech, racism, and incitement to violence.
The new rules do not automatically make Instagram liable simply for recommending an unauthorized betting account, however.
How the framework applies to algorithmic recommendations remains unclear.
Removing an Instagram Post Does Not Stop Its Promotion
Instagram’s recommendation system operates largely outside public view.
Users can see the accounts Instagram suggests, but they cannot see why those accounts were selected and how many people received the same recommendations.
Regulators face the same problem unless Meta provides access to that information.
Digital-law expert Mattheus Puppe told the Associated Press that the ANPD may lack the capacity to investigate the expected volume of cases.
Effective enforcement may therefore require more than counting removed posts.
Regulators may also need to examine how illegal betting accounts gain an audience and whether Instagram continues recommending them after they have been identified.
Webopedia has contacted Meta for comment.
