The movement of online bookmakers in Brazil has been increasing. These companies want to establish themselves in the country and are anxiously awaiting the definitive regulation of the activity. Football is certainly the main showcase and the best marketing and activation tool that they are looking for to become better known in the country and establish themselves in the market.
Many clubs in Serie A, B and C already have sponsorships from bookmakers and the tendency is for this number to increase even more, as each day a new player appears on the market. UOL article from October 2020 pointed out that at the time this segment already represents more than 60% of sponsorships in the A and B series associations, until then with a total of 25 clubs with this type of sponsorship.
A survey by the Mantos do Futebol website points out that in this 2021 season there will be 12 Serie A teams sponsored by bookmakers, more than the 10 clubs in the Premier League, the main championship in UK the most important football league in the world, which are sponsored by this sector.
In Brazil, linking a brand to a club is the most natural and correct movement from the point of view of capillarity and winning new customers, since no other sport moves so much and attracts as many fans as football.
The Greek company Betano, a bookmaker that has been growing a lot across Europe and sponsors some clubs in Germany, Greece, Portugal, Romania, and Bulgaria, chose Clube Atlético Mineiro to be its partner in Brazil and signed a master sponsorship. This contribution has affected the sponsorship market in Brazil, as clubs have found it very difficult to find a brand for their master space. For this season, the ‘Rooster’ (as the club is known) showed its strength and the media and engagement cannon that is a football club.
Another important movement was the sponsorship of Sportsbet.io with Flamengo, which had a very interesting growth in the country when choosing a club with a strong national presence of fans, creating specific promotions for games of the team. Betsul is another company that has been doing a presence work in several clubs of the A and B series, with a very aggressive work of activating and attracting new customers.
Galera.bet, which is in clubs like Corinthians, Sport and Cruzeiro, is waiting for the final regulation so that it can start operating in the country. The company, it seems, will follow a line of having a specific page with the nomenclature referring to the clubs it sponsors. The big secret of sponsorship by these companies, in addition to, of course, the great brand exposure, are the activations and engagement with the fans.
With the pandemic, face-to-face activations lost space and started to be made almost 100% digitally. Campaigns with benefits for fan members are being reinforced, causing the club to also promote its member program, which generates revenue, in addition to increasing the sponsor's customer base. It is worth remembering that many clubs receive a variable amount for attracting new players to the sponsor's base, in addition to the usual contributions.
The movement of bookmakers in Brazil aims at an important change that may happen soon, which is the regulation of sports betting in the country, even allowing the stadiums to have devices or points for betting, as happens in Europe. With that, we will certainly see a new boom in sector sponsorships and a new and important source of revenue for clubs, which will most likely have negotiations in parallel with the sponsorship contract.
Clubs need to be prepared and understand that it is a great opportunity to show that sports sponsorship is very interesting, provides return to brands and has less investment compared to other media, such as TV ads, for example.
The bets are on the bookmakers and clubs that understand this movement, will have important partners at their side. The game has started, place your bets!
Pedro Henrique Melo
Commercial Head of Clube Atlético Mineiro
