Brazilian soccer teams cry foul at Lula’s online betting ban
FILE PHOTO: Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a candidate for reelection for the Workers’ Party (PT), sits on the day he announces a national ban on the operation of online betting companies, known locally as “bets” and other economic measures aimed at protecting families and working-class households, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, September 25, 2026. REUTERS/Amanda Perobelli/File Photo
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BRASILIA, Sept 30 : Brazilian soccer teams are siding with sports betting companies to lobby against a government ban on gambling websites, a move industry officials say will strip clubs of access to multimillion-dollar sponsorship deals.
The provisional measure, approved by Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva last Friday, includes an immediate ban on gamblers making new deposits and requires all sports betting websites and apps to be shut down in the country from October 6.
The clampdown — which prompted online betting companies in Europe to revise earnings guidance — comes amid an extremely tight presidential election campaign in Brazil, where Lula is seeking a fourth non-consecutive term in power. A Quaest poll released this week showed that 62 per cent of Brazilians support restricting online betting in the country.
State soccer federations, including those of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, have signed a letter expressing “enormous concern” over the ban, describing it as “a fatal blow to Brazilian soccer” that would drive clubs into insolvency.
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“Fans cannot foot this bill. If the regulated market ends, betting doesn’t end. Soccer is what ends,” the letter said.
While gambling sponsorship is a relatively recent source of income for Brazil’s soccer teams, the move is expected to force management restructuring across many clubs because the financial blow will be hard to recover from in the short term, analysts and club representatives said.
“In the best moments in the history of Brazilian soccer, there were no betting sites,” Lula said on Monday. “The clubs will have to figure it out.”
A government meeting with soccer teams scheduled for Tuesday was postponed and a new date has yet to be set. Support measures, such as a possible subsidized credit line, will only be considered once talks conclude, a person at a ministry involved in the debate said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
FINANCING BY BETTING COMPANIES
Teams in Brazil’s top-flight Serie A league received 1 billion reais ($192 million) in direct advertising revenue from online betting companies in 2025, up 67 per cent from the previous year, according to a survey by consultancy Convocados and sports investment manager Outfield.
The amount represents nearly 10 per cent of the clubs’ total recurring revenue, said economist Cesar Grafietti, a sports management and finance consultant who led the study.
However, total losses will be even greater because related revenue sources — such as stadium advertising and broadcast rights fees — are also heavily financed by betting companies, he said.
“A chain reaction begins: you are forced to sell players and prices start to fall, players with contracts up for renewal may stay on lower salaries, and signings tend not to happen at the values we have been seeing,” Grafietti said, adding that he expects clubs will recover financially in the medium term.
Revenue at Rio de Janeiro club Flamengo could fall by 400 million reais as a result of the ban, club president Luiz Eduardo Baptista told reporters, adding that the hit would mean the team would not be able to honor commitments it has made for next year.
Online betting firms have filed a challenge against the ban at Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court, arguing that there was no urgency justifying the government using a provisional measure — which takes immediate effect — to block the sites.
If efforts to overturn the ban are unsuccessful, clubs will have to seek other advertising partnerships elsewhere. Some are already seeing the block on online gambling as an opportunity.
“(This) is our chance. We’ve always dreamed of sponsoring every club in Brazil,” Joao Adibe Marques, CEO of pharmaceutical company Cimed, said in a post on social media.
($1 = 5.20 Brazilian reais)
Source: Reuters
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