The site is blunt to clarify the situation and states that "at no time did the player Ferreirinha make any type of bet, he just received the print and posted it."
For Esportes da Sorte, it is also important to say that a single ticket from the company was used for the promotion.
Although the regulation of the gambling sector in Brazil is still under analysis, the athlete's post generated discussion about the limits of the actions of betting sites with active players.
The betting market in Brazil, today, is the segment of the economy most present in sponsorship contracts in Brazilian football. In 2023, gaming companies will inject R$ 327 million (US$ 65m) by sponsoring 19 of the 20 teams in Série A of the Brazilian Championship. Per year, the average is R$ 17.2 million (US$ 3.4m) per team.
After the fuss with Ferreirinha's publication of a betting slip on Grêmio's victory, the company Esportes da Sorte and the athlete's agent spoke out. It should be noted that, injured, the player did not participate in the game.
Ferreirinha's agent, Pablo Bueno, also reported that the post was not a bet by the player, but an advertisement by the bookmaker. Still, he pointed out that the operator sponsors his agency's athlete and Grêmio itself.
Esportes da Sorte, through its advisory, confirmed Pablo's version, saying that the posted print was about advertising. Also, the betting site reported that other brand partners posted the same print, encouraging users to bet on the decision game of the Gaucho tournament.
Therefore, both Esportes da Sorte and Pablo Bueno denied that the post was a bet made by Ferreirinha himself, an action that is prohibited by FIFA. The maximum football entity provides for a ban on football for up to three years, in addition to a fine of at least 100,000 Swiss francs for players, referees and managers who place bets on games.
In addition, FIFA's code of ethics further prohibits the indirect involvement of players with betting. Despite this, the entity does not make specific mentions of the performance of players in advertising for betting companies.
The Provisional Measure for the regulation of gambling in the country, which has been developed by the Ministry of Finance, must establish rules to oblige sports entities to foresee such situations in their regulations and statute.
Meanwhile, the General Regulation of Competitions of the CBF, in an item of article 65, prohibits athletes from betting. In addition, another item says that it will be considered unlawful conduct the fact of: "instructing, encouraging or facilitating any other person to bet on a football match in which he is participating, or may exert influence". The Regulation of the Gaucho Federation has a similar rule.
Source: GMB
