Brightstar and Scientific Games launch São Paulo lottery

The Brightstar and Scientific Games São Paulo Lottery Launch is more than a corporate partnership announcement, it is a concrete step in Brazil’s ongoing shift toward state-level lottery expansion, built on concessions, omnichannel distribution, and increasingly complex regulatory expectations. Brightstar Lottery PLC and Scientific Games have joined forces to form SP Loterias SPE S.A. (SPL) and have signed a concession agreement with the Government of the State of São Paulo to launch a new lottery in the Brazilian state.

At a glance, this is a straightforward market entry story. In practice, it sits at the intersection of procurement governance, judicial precedent, retail and digital channel strategy, and the long-running question of how Brazil wants to structure and supervise regulated gambling products. With an exclusive 15-year licence in the country’s most economically significant state lottery market, SPL now moves São Paulo from tender design into operational delivery.

What SPL won and what the concession covers

Under the concession agreement, SPL receives an exclusive 15-year licence to run lottery operations across São Paulo State. The contract scope is broad, covering draw-based products, instant tickets and eInstant games via retail and digital channels, plus passive lottery games.

This scope matters because it signals a full-stack approach rather than a limited, single-product deployment. The operator is expected to deliver an omnichannel offering that integrates retail distribution with digital play, aligning with global lottery trends where player acquisition and retention increasingly depend on consistent experiences across channels.

Brightstar, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Brightstar Global Solutions Corporation, and Scientific Games will supply the technology and game content needed to support a unified player experience across channels. That division of responsibilities, where the concession holder is supported by established technology and content suppliers, is typical in modern lottery models, but the emphasis on a unified experience is especially notable given Brazil’s evolving legal and political environment.

Why São Paulo is the prize market in Brazil

Industry reporting has described São Paulo as Brazil’s most economically significant state lottery market, which helps explain the intensity of competition and scrutiny surrounding the tender. According to reporting referenced in the procurement narrative, the winning bid reached R$600m (€94.7m), exceeding the minimum value cited in tender documentation.

While the article does not detail projected revenues or channel mix targets, it does state the process contemplated a broad statewide retail footprint alongside digital distribution. That combination matters because São Paulo is large enough that retail reach can define early performance, while digital is where long-term growth and product iteration often accelerate.

For suppliers and operators watching Brazil, São Paulo’s model can set expectations for future state concessions. If execution is smooth, other states may be encouraged to follow similar structures. If friction persists, especially around procurement governance or operating constraints, it may raise the bar for transparency and regulatory clarity nationwide.

Procurement and governance are part of the story

The SPL concession followed a multi-stage procurement process led by São Paulo’s investment partnership framework. State materials and industry reporting around the tender indicated the concession model advanced through public consultation, then moved into competitive bidding, culminating in a November 2024 auction for the right to operate the lottery.

This timeline is relevant for two reasons. First, it shows São Paulo framing the lottery concession as a public-private investment model rather than a simple vendor selection. Second, it underlines how lotteries, traditionally viewed as stable public instruments, are now being awarded through processes that resemble infrastructure concessions, bringing both scale and political visibility.

The tender also carried controversy. In late 2024, IGT publicly raised concerns about transparency and access to information in the bidding process and indicated it could seek judicial remedies. That episode highlights a recurring theme in regulated gaming expansion, the legitimacy of the process can be as important as the commercial credentials of the winner.

When a jurisdiction expands regulated gaming channels, stakeholders judge the outcome not only by the operator selected, but by whether the process felt open, consistent, and defensible under scrutiny.

Now that the award is made, the emphasis shifts from dispute to delivery. The operator is responsible for launching products and building retail and digital operations under the 15-year concession terms, which will test whether the procurement structure created a workable runway for execution.

Brazil’s legal backdrop explains the pace and the tension

The São Paulo lottery project unfolded against a shifting national and judicial backdrop that has shaped how lotteries can be offered in Brazil. A key turning point came in 2020, when the Supreme Federal Court reinforced that states may operate lotteries. That decision weakened the practical effect of a federal monopoly model and accelerated state-level concession efforts.

This is the context that makes the Brightstar and Scientific Games São Paulo Lottery Launch particularly meaningful. It is not just a new lottery, it is a manifestation of the post-2020 environment where states can pursue their own models, move toward auctions and long-term concessions, and seek partners capable of managing both retail distribution and digital adoption.

At the same time, the national picture remains nuanced. The article notes that federal fixed-odds betting reforms and subsequent court scrutiny have added complexity to questions about market structure, including how far advertising and multi-state operations can extend for groups active across jurisdictions. Even though the São Paulo concession is about lottery operations, it exists within a broader regulated gaming ecosystem where boundaries between products, channels, and marketing reach are being actively defined.

Omnichannel delivery is the operational make or break

From a consumer perspective, the most important promise in the contract is the omnichannel offering that integrates retail distribution with digital play. The success of that strategy depends on execution details that the public typically only sees after launch, including product cadence, retail onboarding, and frictionless account journeys across channels.

What we do know from the announcement is that Brightstar and Scientific Games will provide the technology and game content to support a unified player experience. That implies a deliberate focus on consistency, where the same player can engage with draw games, instant tickets, and eInstant games without encountering disconnected systems or fragmented product logic.

In practice, an omnichannel lottery strategy tends to win or lose on a few core factors

• retail scale and reliability, because statewide reach and day-to-day availability shape trust and habit formation,
• digital product clarity, because eInstant and draw-based experiences must be intuitive to convert retail players and retain digital-first audiences,
• channel integration, because a truly unified experience reduces friction and makes responsible, trackable play easier to manage.

The São Paulo concession explicitly includes both retail and digital channels, which makes integration not a marketing slogan, but a contractual expectation.

A public funding narrative is central to lottery legitimacy

Brightstar and Scientific Games positioned the São Paulo lottery as a funding vehicle for public priorities, citing healthcare investments as a stated beneficiary of proceeds in the state’s model. This framing is not incidental. Lottery expansion often relies on a public interest narrative that links participation to visible social outcomes, helping justify policy decisions and increasing public acceptance.

For São Paulo, that means performance will likely be judged through two lenses. One is commercial, how effectively SPL launches and scales products across the state. The other is civic, whether the proceeds can be credibly connected to the stated public priorities in a way that withstands political scrutiny.

In regulated gambling markets, public benefit narratives tend to become even more important when tenders are contested or politicized. When stakeholders have raised questions about the process, governments and operators often feel greater pressure to demonstrate that the model delivers tangible, measurable benefits over time.

What this means for suppliers and competitors

For technology and content suppliers, the SPL award reinforces that Brazilian states are willing to select multi-year exclusive concession models for lottery operations. With Brightstar and Scientific Games supplying technology and game content, competitors will likely look to differentiate on procurement readiness, integration capability, and the ability to support both traditional retail play and digital-first growth.

It also highlights a strategic reality for Brazil. As more state lotteries come online under varying frameworks, suppliers and operators active in multiple jurisdictions will have to navigate evolving interpretations of advertising scope and the limits of multi-state operations, as noted in the broader federal and judicial environment.

Execution phase begins now for SPL

With the concession agreement signed, SPL moves into the execution phase, launching products and building operations that match the contract’s breadth. The state’s journey, from public consultation to competitive bidding to award, suggests that São Paulo views lottery as a structured, long-term concession rather than a short-term commercial experiment.

The next chapter will be defined less by the auction headline and more by the day-to-day reality of delivery. The operator must translate the licence into an accessible, trusted lottery ecosystem across São Paulo State, with draw-based products, instant tickets, and eInstant games available through a retail footprint and digital distribution.

If SPL delivers a smooth omnichannel experience, it could strengthen the case for state-level lottery concessions as a credible funding mechanism for public priorities. If challenges arise, whether operational or governance-related, it may influence how future tenders are structured and how transparency expectations are enforced in Brazil’s expanding regulated gaming landscape.