Four and a half years earlier, in 2018 – the year in which the presence of these companies in Brazil was legalized – the same ranking featured only one company in the segment among the 300 largest advertisers.
Among the bookmakers, Sportingbet was the best classified company in the ranking, occupying the 49th position among the largest advertisers in Brazil, with an investment of more than R$ 220 million (US$ 46m) in media purchases made in 2022.
Betano, sponsor and holder of the naming rights of the Copa do Brasil, appears on the list for the first time, occupying the 72nd place. The company invested more than R$ 139 million (US$ 29m) last season alone. Bodog, Sportsradar, Betnacional, Pixbet, galera.bet, Sportbet, Bet7, Betwarrior, Betfair and 1xBet also appear in the ranking.
The rapid growth of investments in marketing is due to the need for visibility that these companies detected as soon as they gained permission to operate in the national territory. The vice president of media at DPZ, Rafaela Queiroz, also attributes this movement to the way in which the country has created business opportunities for the sector.
“Brazil opened space for bookmakers to invest more in advertising and seek a wider audience. At the same time, the increased popularity of sports betting among Brazilians boosted the demand for these companies,” he analyzes.
Betting and investment
The main strategy of these companies is to attract customers, at first, and subsequently to retain them. For this reason, advertising has been decentralized, occupying different media windows. Advertisements and commercials for bookmakers are present on open and cable TV, merchandising, out-of-home media and buses, in addition to having a massive presence in the digital environment.
Of these segments, two companies best ranked in the 2022 Agencies & Advertisers (Sportingbet, served by Abille Comunicação, and Betano, by Artplan) had free-to-air TV as their main investment destination — more than 60% of each company's total budget. In the sum of both, the contribution exceeded R$ 230 million (US$ 48m). In addition, merchandising on TV programs is the second largest investment destination, with more than R$ 49 million (US$ 10.25m).
In the case of PixBet, the Qatar World Cup was its big bet in the 2022 season. The company sponsored the broadcasts on Globo and SporTV – the only group that owned the rights to the tournament on TV. The brand was ranked 123rd in Agências & Anunciantes, with an investment of R$ 77 million (US$ 16m) in media purchases.
In addition to greater media exposure, bookmakers are expected to move up the ranks in terms of creative quality. The report found, along with a source who participates in the Cannes Lions 2023 jury, that more than two thirds of the pre-evaluated works in its category are from betting companies. These cases even stand out for the quality and sophistication of their production.
Advertising on the sector
A survey carried out by EY, a consulting and auditing company, identified that the revenue of Brazilian clubs reached R$ 8.1 billion (US$ 1.7b) in 2022. With data from 30 of the 40 clubs in series A and B of the Brazilian Championship, the survey pointed to growth of 156% in total revenue from 2013 to 2022.
The survey did not specify which are the main sponsors, but bookmakers, as major national advertisers, have their share in this movement. Only in Serie A of the men's Brazilian Championship, 19 of the 20 participating teams have some sponsorship relationship with bookmakers.
New bookmaker schedules
Despite the fact that bookmakers allocate significant funds to Brazilian football, when a single sector accounts for a considerable part of sports and media investments, it is necessary that the situation be viewed with caution.
“When you depend too much on a category, it is something to worry about. It is a fact that demands attention,” says Ricardo Fort, founder of Sport by Fort Consulting. For the executive, this exponential growth can be controlled through regulation, as happened in other countries. “There are several initiatives to control this. In Brazil, this subject is still in its infancy, which is worrying,” he reinforces.
Bookmakers self-regulation
The Provisional Measure (PM) that creates guidelines for the performance of bookmakers in Brazil, released by the Ministry of Finance on May 11, may change the way these companies have been advertising. The portfolio announced, in the release of the PM, that it would have the support of the National Advertising Self-Regulation Council (Conar) for the definition of rules for the marketing and communication of bookmakers.
This week, Conar announced that it signed an agreement with the Brazilian Institute of Responsible Gaming (IBJR) for the elaboration of a specific self-regulation code for betting companies. This document, according to Conar, will also be presented to the Ministry of Finance.
At the same time, it closed an agreement with the National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL) to work together on self-regulation practices focused on the format of disclosures with a view to user protection and responsible gaming.
Source: Meio & Mensagem
