Boca Juniors may face Brazil fines over Betsson shirt logo

Boca Juniors may face administrative sanctions in Brazil after the Betsson logo appeared on the sleeve of its shirt during a 3-1 win over Vasco da Gama in the Copa CONMEBOL Sudamericana in Rio de Janeiro on 20 October. No action against the club over the logo at the Maracanã has been confirmed, according to the report.

Brazil has banned the use and promotion of fixed-odds betting since 25 September, when President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed Provisional Measure No. 1394/2026. Article 16 of the measure prohibits communications, advertising, marketing activities and sponsorships of fixed-odds betting in Brazil. Article 18 defines "abusive advertising" and provides for administrative sanctions including fines and counter-advertising measures, subject to the evaluation of the competent authorities.

Eduardo Carlezzo, a sports law expert with Carlezzo Advogados, told EXAME that Brazilian legislation makes no distinction between domestic and foreign clubs, so Boca Juniors' sponsorship contract with Betsson in Argentina would not necessarily exempt the club from the rules during a match in Brazil. "The provisional measure does not distinguish between Brazilian and foreign clubs," Carlezzo said.

According to Bernardo Freire, a partner at Betlaw, CONMEBOL ought to carry out the adjustments its advertising requires. Freire, who spoke to EXAME, also drew a contrast with other markets, where clubs and tournaments form partnerships within their own regulatory frameworks, something he said Brazil's strategy does not resemble.

Fábio Wolff, managing partner of Wolff Sports, noted that Betsson's logo on the Boca Juniors jersey still delivers commercial visibility for the brand, and that this holds true despite the removal of betting advertisements on stadium boards from Brazilian broadcasts. In Wolff's view, foreign clubs that can keep using their sponsors will end up in an uneven position compared with Brazilian teams, which must strip betting operators' brands from their kits.

For certain Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana matches shown in Brazil, CONMEBOL has already reworked betting sponsorships. As Máquina do Esporte reported, the organisation brought in virtual overlay technology that swaps LED advertising boards depending on which country hosts a game. The first Boca Juniors–Vasco clash, held in Argentina on 13 October, was where it debuted: Bwin ads reached viewers elsewhere in Latin America, whereas ESPN and SBT carried institutional messages and/or other sponsors' brands for the Brazilian audience. Brands displayed directly on players' equipment fall outside the system's scope.

Any potential penalty for Boca Juniors would depend on the judgment of the authorities and the laws in effect, the report said.