Brazilian football clubs stand to lose more than €256.4 million in annual commercial revenue now that the federal government has outlawed fixed-odds betting and ordered gambling sponsorship and advertising taken down. The estimate, reported by iGaming Express, covers shirt deals, pitchside advertising, and other commercial packages tied to betting companies, which have become some of the biggest spenders in the Brazilian game.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed Provisional Measure 1,394 on Sept. 25, banning the operation, offer, intermediation, and advertising of fixed-odds betting across Brazil. New gambling advertising and sponsorship deals were prohibited immediately, existing promotional material has to come down by Oct. 5, and betting websites and apps are due to be blocked from Oct. 6, with all 85 federal betting authorizations also set to be extinguished.
Fourteen of the 20 Série A clubs currently carry a betting company as their main shirt sponsor, which leaves most of Brazil’s biggest teams directly exposed. UOL puts those master sponsorships alone at around R$910 million a year, and betting companies paid Série A clubs R$1.03 billion in 2025, roughly a third of their total commercial revenue.
Flamengo holds the largest individual deal, with Betano guaranteeing R$220 million a year, while Corinthians receives around R$150 million and Palmeiras R$100 million before bonuses. São Paulo, Atlético-MG, Fluminense, Botafogo, Cruzeiro, Vasco, and Santos each take in tens of millions of reais annually from betting brands. Flamengo football director José Boto has already warned that losing the Betano money could eventually force the club to sell players without replacing them while it works through existing transfer commitments.
Stadium advertising, broadcast-related commercial packages, and other sponsorship inventory all bring in betting money beyond the shirt deals, and some clubs are sitting on large stocks of merchandise carrying gambling brands. Flamengo has between 100,000 and 150,000 Betano-branded shirts in stock according to UOL, while Fluminense has roughly six months of Superbet-branded inventory. Pitchside advertising revenue could drop as well, since gambling companies have been among the biggest buyers of those packages.
Some contracts are already being suspended or terminated while operators and clubs work through the new rules. Vitória’s deal with 7K Bet has been terminated, and Flamengo has suspended parts of its Betano arrangement rather than ending the contract outright. São Paulo could lose at least R$560 million in future payments if its Superbet agreement, which runs through 2030, is eventually cancelled, though the contract includes provisions covering changes in gambling law.
Clubs and betting industry groups are fighting the measure at Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court. Flamengo, Botafogo, São Paulo, Ponte Preta, Vitória, Guarani, and Portuguesa SAF have asked to join a constitutional challenge filed by the National Association of Games and Lotteries, arguing that the ban threatens contracts signed while betting was legal and federally regulated. Losing the sponsorship money could hit salaries, player transfers, and their ability to meet existing financial commitments, the clubs have warned.
The government has defended the ban on public-health and consumer-protection grounds, reversing the regulated framework it introduced only recently. The measure is already in force but needs congressional approval within 120 days to stay effective, so clubs and operators face an immediate commercial problem alongside real uncertainty over whether the prohibition becomes permanent. Industry groups argue that prohibition will push bettors toward unlicensed operators, while the government maintains that the regulated market’s social costs justify shutting it down.
Clubs have started looking for replacement sponsors in finance, retail, automotive, pharmaceuticals, food, and technology, although marketing specialists cited by UOL doubt any of those sectors will match what betting companies have been paying. With gambling accounting for about a third of Série A commercial investment in 2025, replacing that money quickly will be difficult even if the final hit falls short of the €256.4 million estimate.