Among the 40 elite football clubs in Brazil, 32 are sponsored by sports betting and online gaming houses. The number was even higher until Friday, when Bahia announced the termination with Esportes da Sorte. Nevertheless, the Salvador team plays its games at Arena Fonte Nova, which has the naming rights from the Betting House.
In Serie A, Bahia is the only one outside this list. Palmeiras joined this group this season, with the arrival of Sportingbet, but also had bet on its women's uniform last year.
Adding up all the values that have been disclosed in the press with the agreements, this total reaches around R$ 1 billion, and the aggregate could be even higher depending on the goals that will be achieved by each club. Only Palmeiras, Flamengo, and Corinthians are responsible for more than R$ 300 million.
In Serie B, of the 20 clubs, eight do not have sponsorship from betting houses. Amazonas did not renew with Reals, which was on its uniform last year, while América-MG did not continue with EstrelaBet and just announced MG Games as its new master sponsor. Athletico-PR was a partner of Esportes da Sorte, but broke the agreement in October 2024. Avaí, Athletic, CRB, and Cuiabá are the other four from the Second Division not involved with betting.
José Francisco Manssur is a partner at CSMV Lawyers and served as a special advisor to the Executive Secretariat of the Ministry of Finance in 2023. He explains that there is no other sector with so much money available for football.
"There is no other segment with the capacity and interest in sponsoring sports that even comes close to betting companies," he explained.
Raphael Paçó Barbieri, a sports law expert and partner at CCLA Lawyers, follows a similar line and adds that regulation starting from 2025 will make the sponsors more controlled.
"The space that bets occupy in sports sponsorships plays a fundamental role within the revenues of the clubs, and with regulation, the trend is that this market will become even more segmented, serious, and transparent in the relationship with all parties involved, creating an even more conducive environment for these investments", he added.
"Betting house owners also see in football the perfect opportunity to directly link exposure with business. Many of them understand that this large injection of money helps in the high values that are being moved in this window."
"The positive impact that sports betting companies have had on the national and international football scene is visible. In Brazil, for example, club investments have increased, the level of signings is higher, and all this is reflected on the field and in the relationship with the fans. In Europe, the movement is even more traditional than here, as many countries have been regulated for a longer time. Football is strong there also because of the bets", highlights Vinicius Nogueira, CEO of BETesporte, a company that sponsors rivals Vila Nova and Goiás.
"We are extremely proud to contribute to the development of the country's biggest sport and seek to strengthen Brazilian football even more. We are happy to occupy this prominent place and want our brand to grow along with the teams we support", stated Talita Lacerda, CEO of 7k, sponsor of Vitória and Mirassol.
"It is a natural movement of football around the planet. Fans are accustomed to enjoying sports betting, and companies naturally come closer to their audience through their passion. In Brazil, it is the same, bets have boosted the growth of Brazilian football and we, from Reals, are proud of our partnership with Coritiba, renewed now for 2025. We want to carry out many actions to bring the fan even closer to the club and the brand", analyzes Rafael Borges, Country Manager of Reals, a company that occupies the master space in Coritiba, the largest in the club's history.
In Europe, betting houses are also very present, with some specific restrictions such as in the case of the Premier League, which will bar sponsors of this type from mid-2026.
In August this year, bet365 secured sponsorship to the Champions League, being the first company in the sector to sponsor the competition. The UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League also closed a partnership with the same segment, but with Kaizen Gaming, which owns the brands Betano and Stoiximan, and already sponsors local championships in Greece and Cyprus. Betano, by the way, was the global sponsor of Euro 2024.
Source: UOL
