Brazilian football clubs oppose restrictions on gambling sponsorship
Some 34 clubs have called for the Senate to reject a proposed amendment to Brazil’s sports betting bill.
Brazil.- Football clubs have signed a petition opposing a proposed amendment to Brazil’s sports betting bill PL 3626/2023. Amendment 38-U put forward by senator Eduardo Girão and supported by the Senate Sports Committee would prohibit sports betting sponsorships for teams, individuals and championships.
Some 34 professional football clubs, including teams in Brazilian Football League (Libra) and the Liga Forte União (LFU), have signed a petition calling for the Senate to reject the proposal, which would also ban former athletes, referees, technical staff and federations from entering into sponsorship deals and would limit broadcast and social media advertising to between midnight and 6am. Advertisements in sports arenas would also be banned.
Clubs say the ban would cause economic harm to professional football at all levels, denying clubs a major source of income and potentially causing problems for existing contracts. Of the 40 teams in Brazil’s Serie A and B, 39 have some kind of sponsorship deal with an online gambling brand.
Sports betting in Brazil
At the end of last month, Brazil’s Ministry of Finance published Ordinance No. 1330, listing the requirements for sports betting operators ahead of the launch of a regulated market. The ordinance stated that all companies interested in entering the market must inform their interest within 30 days in order to “expedite the authorisation process”.
The requirements listed include the establishment of dedicated service centres for customer support. Licence applicants will have to maintain industry integrity and meet ethical and legal standards. They will be required to monitor for irregular or suspicious transactions and report them promptly to the Financial Activities Control Council (COAF).
