Apuestas Royal has signed sponsorship deals with 11 clubs competing in Chile’s Primera División for the 2026 season, positioning itself as one of the most visible betting brands in the country’s football market.
Under the agreements, the operator will serve as main shirt sponsor for eight teams and maintain secondary branding arrangements with three additional clubs.
The operator will appear as main sponsor on the jerseys of Audax Italiano, Deportes Concepción, Deportes Limache, Huachipato, Ñublense, Universidad de Concepción, Cobresal and Unión La Calera. Secondary sponsorship placements were agreed with Everton, Palestino and Deportes La Serena.
Local media reported that sponsorship fees were negotiated in Chilean pesos. Deportes Concepción reportedly secured approximately CLP 150m ($175,500) for front-of-jersey placement, while Palestino received around CLP 332m for stadium advertising rights, figures that exceed contributions from some traditional sponsors. Contract terms have not been formally disclosed by the parties.
Apuestas Royal is reported to operate under a Curaçao registration and has been linked in Chilean media coverage to Venezuelan entrepreneur Andrés Galperin, although publicly available corporate and executive information remains limited.
Galperín said to a local outlet: “We are a group of friends with prior experience in the digital and entertainment sectors. Four years ago, we explored the opportunity and decided to build an accessible platform.
“Our goal was to simplify the experience and set standards aligned with what users actually needed. It was a long process of trial and error. We tried not to replicate existing models, focusing instead on what could be improved to create something appealing and easy to use.”
The President of Deportes Concepción said: “We carried out a full legal review before signing the contract. We held discussions with the company and completed comprehensive legal due diligence to ensure everything was properly structured.
It is a market that remains poorly regulated, but operators are not going to leave. They need to be regulated, just as happened with Uber or Netflix.”
The sponsorship campaign has intensified debate around gambling advertising in Chilean football. Other recent deals include partnerships between Colo-Colo and Jugabet, Universidad de Chile and Jugabet, O'Higgins with BC Game, Coquimbo Unido with Pin Up, and Universidad Católica with 1xBet.
Club executives have defended betting sponsorships as a commercial necessity, citing restrictions on alcohol advertising and limited alternative revenue streams.
While television broadcast rights remain the primary source of income for Chilean clubs, betting-related sponsorships have become an increasingly significant component of football financing in the absence of a regulated online gambling framework.
International betting brands have previously sponsored Chilean football clubs, including Stake’s 2025 shirt sponsorship deal with Ñublense
