Flamengo says it is closely following a change made to PEC 18, Brazil's Public Security constitutional amendment, during its passage through the Chamber of Deputies.
The amendment altered how tax revenue from betting operators is distributed, reducing the share previously allocated to sport.
The change was made in the final stage of the bill's passage through the Chamber, before the July parliamentary recess, and has resurfaced as debate on the bill resumes.
“We consider it essential to make its position clear: the club supports strengthening public security and allocating more resources to this area,” stated the football club.
“Still, this should not happen at the expense of sports, since the sports betting market depends on competitions, clubs and games, and therefore, since the regulation of betting in Brazil, part of the resources generated by this activity has been allocated to sports.”
Flamengo, sponsored by Betano since September 2025 under a contract running through 2028, said removing these funds would cut a financing source already built into Brazil's sporting ecosystem, one that supports the sport's maintenance and development nationwide.
The Rio de Janeiro club noted that sports organizations spent years working to expand available funding sources, and argues the current challenge has become more basic: preserving funding that has already been allocated to sport and originates directly from sporting activity.
Recently, the São Paulo Football Federation and the city's leading football clubs faced similar issues when opposing two bills warning the measures could trigger at least BR1bn ($185m) in betting sponsorship renegotiations and contract cancellations if passed in their current form.
The bill will now go before the Senate's Constitution and Justice Committee before reaching the full Senate floor.
“Preserving the resources allocated to sports is preserving a policy of enormous social reach that also contributes, in its origin, to the construction of a safer society,” concluded Flamengo.
Flamengo is widely considered the most popular club in Brazil with the largest fan base, with estimated over 40 million supporters
