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Top soccer clubs in Brazil have joined forces to collectively denounce a government motion looking to limit commercial team sponsorships with gambling firms.Top Crypto Casino in Saudi Arabia – BitStarz Ranked #1

The move follows the advancement of Bill 2,985/2023 in the Brazilian Senate, which is also seeking to impose harsher betting-related advertising restrictions. Outside of the coalition of clubs, critics also argue that the bill will destabilize the country’s entire sports construct.

The club’s statement forthrightly states that the bill is effectively “a prohibition disguised as a limitation” and says it jeopardizes roughly R$1.6 billion ($281 million) in annual team revenues. It also clarified that not only are these funds vital for the big clubs, but lower-league teams also rely heavily on these sponsorships to stay afloat.

In its current form, should the Brazilian bill pass, it intends to ban static gambling operator signage in stadiums during games and also to restrict betting-related advertising on television, radio, and digital platforms nationwide.

The news also follows the Brazilian government’s announcement in April, ordering licensed betting companies to register with its supervised complaints platform.

In addition to the advertising ban, the government also plans to limit teams to only one betting sponsorship, depleting revenues traditionally gained by teams from having multiple sponsorship agreements in place.

Furthermore, the proposal could also see clubs that have penned multi-year betting company sponsorships potentially lose out. Under the proposed changes, these agreements would likely have to be renegotiated – or worse, prematurely terminated, with the threat of legal action and financial penalties if they fail to comply.

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Despite the dangers the bill poses for club finances, the teams were also united in suggesting the restrictions will “severely infringe upon the principles of free competition.” The statement went on, “Allowing only one betting operator to advertise in stadiums would merely funnel consumers to a single market competitor, who would then become the sole beneficiary of the measure.”

Industry groups, too, were quick to warn that the consequences of the bill could lead bettors to turn toward unregulated platforms. The premise behind this, they argue, is that legal advertising naturally directs consumers to regulator-approved, licensed operators.

However, Senator Carlos Portinho, who tabled the amendment, defended the bill during a recent Senate debate. Portinho cited both the uptick of problematic gambling in Brazil and his belief that the industry was unable to self-regulate as the reasoning for the legislation.

Portinho claimed, “Football clubs are addicted to betting. Communication companies are addicted to betting, to advertising, to the money they receive from betting… and with this pandemic, it is up to us to impose discipline.”

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Brazil’s latest advertising and sponsorship initiative marks a similar global trend as regulators seek to curb gambling sponsorship in sports. One instance of this was seen in the Netherlands, where the Dutch Gaming Authority, or Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), warned operators that as of July 1, it will be tightening its supervision of the ban on sports gambling sponsorship and advertisements.

While Brazil’s soccer teams have clubbed together in response to the bill, they have also urged lawmakers to adopt a more balanced approach.

In doing so, they reiterated their support for the need for responsible gambling. Still, they asked the government “to act with prudence, responsibility, and awareness of the harm that could be inflicted on football and Brazilian sports, both of which are cultural assets of the Nation.”