Brazil minister admits betting sponsorship ban hit football clubs' finances

Brazil's secretary-general of the presidency, Guilherme Boulos, acknowledged at a meeting with representatives of 35 organised fan groups in São Paulo that the abrupt suspension of fixed-odds betting sponsorships under Medida Provisoria nº 1.394/2026 created a real problem for the financing of Brazilian clubs. The meeting lasted more than two hours. The government committed to creating a permanent working group in the coming weeks.

The working group is to bring together staff from the Secretaría General and the ministries of sports, justice and culture, along with fan representatives chosen collectively by the groups. Its stated aim is to discuss ways to rebalance club accounts under the new arrangement, in which sports betting and online gaming are prohibited. Boulos said betting companies had sponsored much of the Serie A and Serie B clubs and had provided considerable, fixed income that allowed for significant outlays.

In 2025, betting houses accounted for 34% of the marketing revenue of the 20 largest clubs, about R$1.1bn (US$217m) of a total of R$3.2bn (US$632m). Seven Serie A teams still have no main sponsor and the offers on the table are considerably lower than their previous contracts. Corinthians has signed with Shopee and Santos with Agibank; others have begun promoting their own initiatives, such as membership programmes or institutional platforms.

Flamengo, Fluminense and São Paulo displayed the phrase "Prohibir no es proteger" on their shirts in a protest coordinated by sector bodies. The government says it is willing to discuss ways to restore part of that income and address fan demands, but the source describes the dialogue as still taking place in a climate of distance, with relations between the executive and the sector marked by coldness and distrust. The prohibition remains defended on public health grounds, and the construction of concrete alternatives for football depends on a process that is only beginning to take shape.