For clubs, especially smaller ones, this represents a direct threat to the sustainability of football, which risks facing a collapse in its financing model, in addition to a potential legal collapse due to breach of contracts.
The statement was distributed by the Libra clubs, including Flamengo, Palmeiras, São Paulo, and Santos, but it also bears the signatures of more than 50 clubs outside the group who compete in Series A, B, C, and D. Today, for example, all top-tier teams have some kind of relationship with betting companies. You can read the full statement at the end of the text.
The Federal Senate's website states that the rapporteur presented a substitute bill that imposes time restrictions, limits the use of athletes' and public figures' images, and requires mandatory warnings about the risks of gambling.
It also adds that the proposal aims to curb the harmful effects of the unregulated growth of the sector, especially on young people and those in vulnerable situations. Among the most critical points in the substitute bill is the ban on static advertising by betting companies, such as those displayed on signs inside stadiums.
This measure would directly impact long-term sponsorship contracts already signed by several clubs, potentially triggering legal disputes and immediate losses. To mitigate these effects, the clubs support an amendment by Senator Romário, which aims to allow continued advertising in contracted spaces, ensuring legal certainty and predictability for the parties involved.
Although the clubs affirm their alignment with the need to promote responsible gambling, they emphasize that such broad restrictions may be counterproductive.
They point to Italy’s example, which, after a strict gambling advertising ban in 2018, is now considering relaxing its rules after realizing that the measure had negative effects on the sector. In light of this, the clubs call on the Senate to act with caution and balance, so that Brazilian regulation can progress without financially strangling the sport or undermining existing contractual rights.
Full statement from the clubs
The clubs signing this declaration express serious concern regarding the Substitute Proposal presented on May 21, 2025, by Senator Carlos Portinho to Bill No. 2,985/23, which seeks to impose commercial limitations on the advertisement of betting operators in sports events and entities.
In truth, the bill, as presented in the substitute version, is a prohibition disguised as a limitation.
As previously stated by a significant number of Brazilian football clubs during two prior public hearings held by the Supreme Federal Court and the Senate, such limitations, if not adjusted, will result in the financial collapse of the entire sports ecosystem—especially Brazilian football.
The Brazilian sports sector stands to lose approximately R$1.6 billion per year as an immediate consequence of the potential implementation of Senator Carlos Portinho’s Substitute, if approved.
The prohibition of brand exposure from operators on static properties—signage—in sporting venues, as included in the Substitute's wording, removes crucial revenue streams from clubs. The financial losses will be significant even for major clubs. However, what is even more severe is that these new rules may be terminal for the survival of smaller clubs, which also play important social roles and hold deep emotional ties within their communities.
It is worth noting that the financial collapse would also be accompanied by a legal collapse, considering that a significant number of clubs have stadium signage contracts with a minimum term of three years, which would need to be renegotiated or terminated.
On this specific point, the clubs view as a necessary and constructive advancement the recent Amendment presented on May 23, 2025, by Senator Romário (to Bill 2985/2023), which proposes the inclusion of item III to §1º-D of Article 17 of Law No. 14,790 of 2023.
This amendment aims to allow static or electronic advertising when it is “linked to commercial spaces previously contracted with those responsible for managing the sports venue, in accordance with the specific rules of the competition and safeguarding the rights of duly formalized third parties.”
Accepting this amendment is crucial, as the esteemed Senator explained, because it provides “greater legal certainty and effectiveness to advertising regulations” in such venues and seeks to “align the regulatory framework for betting with the contractual and operational realities of Brazilian sports arenas,” while also ensuring “predictability for economic agents” and protecting “the rights of duly formalized third parties.” It aligns with the need to safeguard existing contracts and the revenues derived from them.
Despite the importance of adopting this amendment, the original terms of the Substitute still severely infringe upon the principles of free competition. For example, 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—without providing effective protections to bettors through advertising policies like those already adopted in the country.
In this regard, Brazilian clubs do not ignore the negative externalities stemming from the years between 2018 and 2024, when the government failed to regulate betting in Brazil. On the contrary, they support any and all measures aimed at promoting the concept of Responsible Gambling. In fact, Brazilian clubs advocated for the implementation and enforcement of the recently published Annex X of CONAR, which was studied for months and is designed to regulate messages and encourage responsible gambling practices.
However, promoting Responsible Gambling does not mean that near-total restriction is the solution. In fact, international experience proves otherwise.
Italy, after enforcing a strict ban on gambling advertising in 2018 (“Decreto Dignità”), under the premise of reducing gambling addiction and related debt issues, is now considering relaxing these restrictions. As reported by consultancy firm DLA Piper in the article “Italy to Lift Gambling Advertising Ban? A Key Moment for Market Entry”, the Italian government is reviewing this change as part of a broader reorganization of the sector. This reconsideration suggests that overly broad bans may not be the most effective long-term solution for balancing consumer protection and the health of a regulated market.
Therefore, considering that Brazilian regulation is still very recent—having only come into full effect in January 2025—it seems premature at this stage to adopt such restrictive measures as those still present in the Substitute, which will cause the serious damages described above.
Brazilian clubs urge the Senate committees responsible for reviewing Senator Carlos Portinho’s Substitute Proposal—and the amendment that improves it, by Senator Romário—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.
Source: GMB
