Posted on: March 4, 2022, 10:09h. 

Last updated on: March 4, 2022, 02:18h.

Most countries are determined to separate sports and sports betting. Brazil, which doesn’t even have legal sports betting yet, is going in the opposite direction.

Cuiabá Esporte Clube
Members of Brazil’s Cuiabá Esporte Clube celebrate on the field. The team is the latest to partner with a sports betting operator, making Brazil one of the few countries embracing sportsbook partnerships. (Image: VG Noticias)

Around the world, countries that have legal sports betting want to build a wall between sportsbooks and sports organizations. Italy, the UK, Australia and others spend an exorbitant amount of time on the subject.

Lawmakers in these countries tend to argue that exposure to sports betting only induces gambling addiction and fosters bad habits among the younger generations. As a result, sports betting advertising of virtually any kind isn’t welcome. Commercials on TV or radio, team sponsorships, and sports betting logos on jerseys are outcasts.

Brazil is taking a different approach to these countries, however. Currently, all of its top-level soccer teams have sports betting-related sponsorships.

The country still hasn’t launched sports betting. It’s coming and will arrive within the next couple of weeks.

Brazil Embraces Sports Betting Sponsorships

With the announcement of the agreement between Cuiabá and Luck Sports, the number of Serie A clubs that are sponsored by companies in the sector is almost 100%.

Last week, Cuiabá announced a sponsorship deal with bookmaker Luck Sports. Through the signing of its agreement, the club became the 19th club in the top level of the Brazilian Football Championship league to have a bookmaker as a sponsor.

“Agreements with companies in this segment have grown a lot in the world of football. Our tradition is to always prioritize the companies of Mato Grosso, and Luck Sports is a bookmaker of Cuiabana,” said Cristiano Dresch, vice president of Cuiabá, after the signing of the sponsorship contract.

The only team in Serie A that does not have a sponsorship with any company in the sector is Palmeiras. It did previously. However, it decided not to renew its contract for this year with Dafabet.

Sportsbooks Invest Heavily in Brazil

There are 40 teams in the country’s two main divisions. Of these, 34 receive financial backing through sponsorships from sports betting operators. Among the 19 betting sponsors in the market, seven are main jersey sponsors. These include Atlético-MG (Betano), Atlético-GO (Amulet Bet), América-MG (Pixbet), Avaí (Pixbet), Botafogo (Estrelabet), Fluminense (Betano), and São Paulo (Sportsbet.io).

The other clubs have betting brands with sponsorships that not only include exposure on the team’s jerseys but in other areas.

Official data shows that around 450 sports betting sites currently operate in Brazil. Think tank Fundação Getúlio Vargas predicts that the market could move up to R$10 billion ($1.97 billion) a year in the country’s economy.

Brazil plans to establish two new regulatory bodies that will deal with different levels of sports betting regulations. The monitoring body, known as SINAJ, will include a federal registry of operators. This will effectively be the main regulator of the industry.

The second regulator will focus on problem gambling. The National Register of Prohibited Activity (RANAPRO, for its Brazilian acronym) will have the sole purpose of protecting vulnerable bettors from harm.