October 5: Atlético Mineiro has been forced to terminate the biggest sponsorship deal in the club’s history after Brazil’s new betting ban forced an early end to H2Bet’s three-year R$180m ($35m) contract.
Saturday’s home win against Red Bull Bragantino was the last outing with H2Bet on the front of the shirt, leaving the club looking for a replacement for a commercial asset worth at least R$60 million ($11.5 million) per season.
The deal was only signed in December 2024 and was supposed to last until the end of 2027. It included performance bonuses capable of pushing the final value beyond R$200 million ($38 billion). Atlético’s previous master deal with Betano was worth around R$18 million per year. H2Bet tripled the guaranteed figure when it took over the position in January 2025.
The H2Bet brand extended beyond the men’s first team shirt, appearing on training wear, women’s kit and Atlético’s YouTube operation.
H2Bet said the end of the partnership was due to “the restrictions established by the Government’s Provisional Measure”, which suspends fixed odds betting operations and advertising throughout Brazil.
The move was announced on September 25, resulting in new bet deposits stopping immediately, while operators had until today to return customer balances before websites and apps go down from October 6 (tomorrow).
This is a tight turnaround and one that has left clubs with very little time to replace sponsors who, in some cases, had become their main business partners.
Atlético are talking to replacement sponsors and would like a replacement for their next game: away to Paranaense on Thursday evening.
In the meantime, they’ll get some much-needed financial help from closer to home. The Minas Gerais state government has announced R$32 million in sponsorship support for Atlético, Cruzeiro and América-MG following the betting crackdown.
Atlético and Cruzeiro will each receive R$15 million through state-controlled Cemig and Codemge, with America getting R$2 million.
It softens the blow, but doesn’t come close to replacing what’s gone. Atlético is swapping a R$60m-a-year betting deal for R$15m of state-backed sponsorship, with the precise shirt inventory still under negotiation.
Santos have already ended their partnership with Novibet and subsequently played in São Paulo without a main sponsor, while Flamengo have taken the fight against the interim measure to the Federal Supreme Court.
Atlético has chosen a different route. Instead of waiting in court, they have cut the H2Bet deal and gone straight back to the market.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at (email protected)
