September 29 – A planned meeting between the Brazilian government and the country’s soccer clubs to discuss the impact of a national ban on fixed-odds sports betting has been postponed due to a club boycott reports Folha de S.Paulo.
Club representatives from the top four divisions, state federations and the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) had been invited to the capital Brasilia to discuss the financial consequences of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s decision to ban betting.
Officially, the Sports Ministry blamed the postponement on short notice and inconvenient flight schedules, and told CBF president Samir Xaud that delaying the meeting would allow more clubs to attend. No replacement date has been set.
Behind the scenes, it looks messier.
Brazilian outlet Folha reports that Palmeiras and Flamengo were among those leading an effort to boycott the meeting, with both clubs unhappy to have been invited to discuss the consequences of a policy they believe was introduced without sufficient consultation.
The frustration is largely about money, which, without the betting companies, seems to be in short supply.
Betting companies allocated approximately R$1.03 billion to Serie A clubs in 2025, equivalent to 7.2% of their combined revenue. Eighteen of the 20 top-flight clubs this season have some form of betting sponsorship, while around 13 have a betting company as their main shirt partner.
As Inside World Football reported earlier this week, that reliance is already sending clubs scrambling for replacements. Corinthians, for example, has received a one-year offer of R$120 million from adult services advertising platform Fatal Model as it prepares for the potential loss of Esportes da Sorte, whose main deal guarantees R$150 million a year.
The government has proposed a different answer: cheaper credit and debt restructuring. Facilities aimed at refinancing the club’s existing liabilities and providing future credit have been discussed, with reports of a possible program worth up to R$20 billion. However, there is no approved rescue fund of R$ 20 billion and no final structure has been seriously presented.
This distinction is central to the clubs’ complaint. Sponsorship money is income. A refinancing line is still debt, even if the terms are better.
As it stands, gambling sponsors must withdraw by October 5, with licensed betting websites and apps ceasing to operate from October 6. São Paulo’s clubs met on Monday and agreed to coordinate their response, with the CBF acting as the (admittedly fragile) link between soccer and the government.
The betting industry has hit back by pointing out that they have recently paid billions for licenses to operate in a market that the government is now shutting down. Therefore, they have begun to challenge the interim measure through the courts and Congress.
For Brazilian soccer, the argument has quickly shifted from whether betting money has become too important to what happens when it disappears almost overnight.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at (email protected)