Marcel Belfiore, lawyer specializing in sports law and partner of Ambiel, Mansur, Belfiori and Malta Lawyers, began by explaining that the sponsorship movement of bookmakers in Brazilian football began with the enactment of Law 13,756, which legalized certain gaming modalities, especially betting on real sports events in which the bettor knows at the time that bets his possibilities of gain and that overturned a rule of CONHAR, which regulates advertising in Brazil, and which did not allow any sponsorship or publicity that could induce illegal activities and brought security for companies to invest in the country.
"Now the companies have much more security to sign a sponsorship deal even in the shirt of clubs or in static ads at the stadiums, as they have more security because it is not an illegal activity any more. Now, although not fully because we do not know what the requirements will be until regulation becomes definitive, the Brazilian sport is open to receive these sponsorships from bookmakers,” Belfiori said.
The lawyer also spoke about the importance of the law for the distribution of resources from the activity that now benefits the bettors, the clubs and the government itself. "In the matter of financial movement, there will already be a natural increase. In addition, the government has a benefit from this, which is precisely on the tax issue. What is not taxed today is precisely the companies that are abroad and do not pay anything here , also sometimes even not paying to bettors, many of which don’t declare an illegal activity and therefore don’t declare those gains.”
Bolfiori also spoke about the issue of integrity in sport that now also becomes the responsibility of the state. "The law that legalizes this activity is also beneficial in this sense because now it gives much more possibility and legitimacy for the government to control bets. In this aspect, the whole betting sector improves a lot."
He also spoke about the future of these sponsorships and said that Brazil is moving towards a scenario similar to that of Europe, where major leagues already have most of the clubs sponsored by betting firms. "Now, we are a potential target of these companies and I think they will come strong. From a sponsorship standpoint, if there are not many restrictions, I think it's a milestone in the issue of club sponsorship that will grow and we will see a scenario very similar to what we have in Europe," he concluded.
The section of the show was dedicated to explain the case of manipulation of results that was recently discovered in the first division of the Spanish football involving major clubs like Valencia, Huesca and Valladolid. The journalist from AZ of Madrid, Fernando Calaz, was the guest and explained the participation of betting companies to identify possible manipulations that started the investigation that resulted in the case.
Calaz also talked about the involvement of players in advertisements for sports bookies in Europe. According to the journalist, this scenario is very common in Europe and depends on the nature of each individual to be successful and not to harm the sport. Calaz also reported that in the United States, in competitions such as the NFL, this type of agreement is not allowed and stressed the importance of a strong supervision.
"I think that if there is supervision, as it was the case in Spain, when someone tries to cheat or take advantage of this system, he must be arrested, as these Spanish players were arrested last week," concluded the journalist.
The Esporte S/A radio show is a chat about what happens outside the pitch, in the field of sports business, with the most recognized guests in the world of sports marketing and corporate finance. It is broadcast on Radio Globo every Saturday and can also be heard via podcasts on the radio’s website.
Source: GMB/ Radio Globo
