Zona de Azar Brasil – Brazil: Blocking of Betting Houses in RJ may Affect Sponsorship Contracts
Brazil.- August 2, 2024 www.zonadeazar.com The blocking of betting sites in Rio de Janeiro, requested by Loterj, could impact million-dollar contracts in Brazilian football, according to a report by Poder360.
In May, Loterj filed a lawsuit asking the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) to block access to betting sites without a state license. The request was granted by the judge of the Federal Regional Court of the First Region, Pablo Zuniga Dourado, on June 30.
Poder360 mentions the case of Betano and states that, in addition to blocking the website, “other companies not yet registered could not have their brands printed on club uniforms or on advertising boards in Rio stadiums.”
This court decision should affect several advertising contracts. Of the four Rio clubs in Série A, only Flamengo is sponsored by a betting company regulated in the State: Pixbet. The club’s contract with the company is the largest in Brazilian football, worth R$105 million in 2024 alone.
Vasco has Betfair as a sponsor (R$47 million in 2024); Botafogo has Parimatch (R$27.5 million in 2024); and Fluminense is Superbet (R$42 million in 2024).
To Poder Sports MKT, the president of Loterj, Hazenclever Cançado, stated that the majority of advertising agencies are not complying with the order, but all have been notified: “It would be our obligation that all [advertising agencies] were already notified. If one is not notified, it is because it is low profile and has not yet been located.
The clubs have already been notified and, in Rio, they can only work with advertising on shirts and in stadiums with companies accredited by Rio, Loterj or the Union”, he declared.
Loterj notified Vasco, Botafogo and Fluminense on May 20, asking them to stop advertising aimed at “lottery activity not accredited in the State of Rio de Janeiro”. The notification signed by Cançado also mentions official websites and products.
Brax Sports Assets, a company that holds the rights to operate advertising boards in the stadiums of 17 Serie A clubs and the broadcasting rights for Serie B, was also notified by Loterj.
Brax negotiates sponsorship quotas with six non-accredited betting houses in the State of Rio at the moment, and the value of the contracts with the CBF and the clubs exceeds R$2.6 billion.
Meanwhile, companies and the Ministry of Finance criticize the blockade. To Poder360, ANJL (National Association of Games and Lotteries), which represents 17 betting houses, stated that “Loterj’s position goes against the law that regulates the sector in the country” and mentioned that the regulation period runs until the end of the year.
“The determination to suspend the sites occurred without the companies ever being heard, either in the judicial process or by Anatel, at a stage in which the market is under a regulatory process in Brazil, with a transition period guaranteed nationally to operators until December 31, 2024”, stated the association.
The Ministry of Finance highlighted that the regulation and authorization for betting operations nationally is exclusive to the ministry.
Edit: @_fonta www.zonadeazar.com
