With the start of the 2021 season of the Brazilian Championship on the last weekend of May, seven sports betting sites (Betsul, NetBet, Dafabet, Casa de Apostas, Galera.Bet, Sportsbet.io and Betano) started to have their brands displayed on the main TV stations in Brazil that broadcast the Brasileirão games. They sponsor 14 Serie A clubs.
Among the main football leagues in the world, Brasileirao's Serie A is the one with the largest number of bookmakers' sponsorships, with 14 brand presences in some sector of the club's uniform. This figure exceeds that registered in the 2020/2021 edition of the Premier Legue (10) and Spain’s LaLiga (7), which indicates the strong interest that the international industry has in the Brazilian market, legalized and in the process of being regulated.
Last year, there were also 14 sponsored clubs and 7 different bookmakers. However, the promotions and descents modified the panorama, and some brands are now sponsors of Serie B teams while others increased their investment and confidence by adding more shirts in the Serie A itself. Most clubs receive a fixed fee as sponsorship and a variable amount from the registration and bets of their member-fans on the websites.
With 5, Betsul is the company that most clubs sponsors in the Brasileirao 2021 (Sao Paulo, Gremio, Creará, Fortaleza and Chapecoense). Then comes Betano with 2 (Atletico Mineiro and Fluminense), Galera.Bet 2 (Corinthians and Sport) and Dafabet, also with 2 (Santos and America-MG). In addition, América Mineiro is also sponsored by Keno Minas, the most important lottery modality in the state of Minas Gerais, a product of the State Lottery and Intralot.
Then, NetBet appears with its support for Red Bull Bragantino, Sportsbet.io maintains its successful appearance with the two-time champion Flamengo, and Casa de Apostas also continues with Bahia.
For the time being, only six clubs are not sponsored by sports betting sites: Athletico Paranaense, Atlético Goianiense, Cuiabá, Internacional, Juventude and Palmeiras. Behind the scenes, it is said that two of them are about to close a contract with bookmakers.
In addition to direct sponsorship to clubs, three other betting companies have renewed their support for the tournament and are also in the Brazilian Championship of Serie A as advertisers in the stadiums with presence behind the goals or on leds: Betcris, Bodog and Betfair.Net. EsporteNetSP joins the aforementioned.
Although sports betting is not regulated, it has not been illegal since the end of 2018, when Law 13.756/18 was passed. Now it is up to the Ministry of Economy to regulate the activity to give even more legal security to bookmakers, while it will be necessary for them to establish themselves permanently in Brazil, which will guarantee the collection of taxes on the sector.
It is estimated that there are currently more than 450 betting sites operating in Brazil, all with their headquarters abroad, due to the lack of this regulation. BNDES is analyzing the 38 applications received for the Investment Partnership Program and it will be up to it to define the concession model for the fixed-quota lottery.
However, as the STF ended the Union's monopoly on the exploitation of lottery modalities by States and Municipalities, some entities are already developing their operating models and it may happen that sports betting will also be incorporated into existing lotteries or to be created before the new legal framework and bookmakers also benefit from decentralized operations.
It is estimated that, without regulation, Brazil is not collecting around R$ 7 billion a year. As the regulation will require companies to be established in the country, there is a lot of movement around the urgent definition of deadlines for the Treasury's coffers to have this money for the recovery of the economy. According to sector specialists, with the regulation, Brazil will be among the three largest markets in the world for sports betting.
Source: GMB
