I say that it is an old novelty because this segment already bet high on sports marketing last season to make their names known to the Brazilian public and connect with customers in an extremely competitive market.
Professionals who already work in the sector admit that it is not possible to talk about accurate statistics about betting sites in Brazil. There is no association that brings together the sector (there are discussions for the creation of one) and there is no federal body that specifically takes care of the so-called fixed odds bets, as sports betting is known by law.
Depending on the source, there is information that 200 to 500 betting sites operate in the country. How much does this represent in revenue? Impossible to nail. There are only kicks, periodically inflated, of a few billion reais.
Regulation
Some of these companies offer, in addition to sports betting, other types of games, such as bingos, casinos, and even online raffle. And while exploiting these gambling games is prohibited under Brazilian law, such sites operate freely here, with locations such as Curacao, Malta, Cyprus and the Isle of Man.
This is not the case for sports betting, which has been allowed in Brazil since the passage of law 13,756, which received the sanction of former President Michel Temer. In the law, it was established that the federal government would have a term of two years (renewable for two more) for the regulation of the sector. That is, to establish the rules so that betting companies can act in Brazil.
This deadline was exhausted on December 13, 2022, without former President Jair Bolsonaro signing the decree regulating betting. After four years exploring the game without legal certainty, it was expected that the main companies in the sector would reduce investment in Brazil.
That's not what happens this early in the year. In 2022, all the clubs that competed in Serie A of the Brasileirão had sponsorship from some betting site, although some of these contracts have been signed with the league already in progress, such as Athletico-PR, Botafogo and Internacional. Anyway, of the 20 teams in the Brasileirão, ten had a betting site as a master sponsor.
Sponsorships
In 2023, with three months to go before the competition begins, all 20 clubs already have players in the sector as sponsors, although five have switched partner companies. Again, ten teams will have companies in the branch in the noblest space of the shirt.
When we talk about sports marketing in the betting segment, the calculation is more accurate. Five of the eight biggest sponsorships of Serie A clubs come from this segment (Botafogo, São Paulo, Vasco, Bahia and Atlético-MG).
In the coming days, this number will grow, as Cruzeiro is about to announce a company of the segment in its uniform to occupy the space that was the BH Supermarkets in the Series B campaign in 2022.
According to sources linked to the club, it would be an agreement of R $ 25 million per season. This would put ‘Raposa’, recently promoted to the first division, as the owner of the fourth largest contract in the country, even superior to that of rival Atlético-MG with Betano, another betting site.
It's not the only one. This month, Botafogo, a club that has been in a very precarious financial condition in recent years, announced its biggest sponsorship in history. Parimatch will disburse R$ 55 million for a two-year contract.
Bahia, in turn, announced the biggest deal in the history of a club in the Northeast. Another bookmaker, Esportes da Sorte, will pay R$ 57 million in a three-year contract (R$ 19 million per year).
The Paulistão, the main state championship in the country, has the incredible brand of four betting sites as sponsors: Esportes da Sorte, Betano, Betnacional and Parimatch. No one cared about the fact that it did not have exclusivity in the championship. What matters is the visibility of LED signs in stadiums to attract the attention of fans in the highly competitive national market.
Future
The segment has already shown that investment in sport will not wane. The government needs to do its part and regulate.
The gambler would have the support of bodies such as Procon to trigger a site that stopped paying prizes. Currently, with companies headquartered abroad, guaranteeing this right is impossible.
Companies interested in exploring sports betting in the country would start to operate outside a gray area of legislation, as is the case today, and would have to have a CNPJ in Brazil.
The creation of companies in the country would generate new jobs and bring the need for skilled labor to the sector. That is, more investments would need to be made by the private sector, also creating indirect jobs.
Finally, the federal government would earn a few billions from taxes and the sale of licenses to exploit sports betting. Of burden, it would have to create some autarchy to supervise the sector. However, in a context of bursting the spending ceiling, it is a way to get some new revenue to help pay public bills.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva or a member of the government has yet to comment on the issue. Regardless of what the new president thinks, the law is already approved and sanctioned.
If he decides to go back, it will depend on a new bill that will spend years in Congress. If he wants to bring order to the sector, he will have several advantages.
Continuing as it is, is bad for everyone.
Adalberto Leister Son
Máquina do Esporte Content Director
