Brazilian football entered a new phase of the Government’s betting ban as the prohibition on betting advertising took effect.
Due to that, São Paulo clubs began removing operators’ brands from their commercial properties, even with the state’s main clubs warning against it.
The measure means clubs can no longer advertise betting companies on their shirts, websites, social media or other physical and digital properties.
The first changes are already visible among São Paulo’s major clubs. São Paulo has removed Superbet’s logo from its official website, although the brand was still visible on the team’s training kit on Monday.
Palmeiras trained without Sportingbet’s logo, while Corinthians continued to display Esportes da Sorte across its digital properties and training kit. Santos is the only one of the four that had already suspended its contract with Novibet.
The changes come as the Brazilian Championship is scheduled to resume on October 7, putting clubs under pressure to adjust their commercial arrangements at the same time as they face the loss of one of football’s biggest sponsorship sources.
São Paulo, Palmeiras, Corinthians and Santos had combined betting sponsorships worth BR375m per year.
The ban has also triggered a legal challenge from clubs across different divisions of Brazilian football, which have taken their concerns to the Supreme Federal Court. Justice Luiz Fux is the official for the cases challenging the measure and has requested information from the government before considering the requests.
The latest development follows protests from betting companies during matches from the Brazilian Championship, sponsored by Betano, last weekend. During a match, advertising boards carried messages including “Banning isn't protecting”, “Prohibition doesn't end betting” and “It ends protection for bettors.”
Thirteen of Brazil’s 20 Série A clubs are sponsored by betting companies, with their contracts collectively worth more than BR900m in fixed annual payments
