October 1 – Flamengo has taken Brazilian soccer’s fight against the country’s new betting ban to the Federal Supreme Court, warning that the industry’s sudden elimination could cost the national game around R$2.5 billion.
The Rio club has been accepted as an amicus curiae, a person or group that is not part of a legal case but helps the judge by giving useful information, in the legal challenges against Provisional Measure 1.394/2026, allowing it to present evidence on how the ban affects football contracts, investment and wider sports programs.
Flamengo estimates its own exposure at up to R$ 430 million.
Their argument goes beyond the deal for Betano to sit on the front of the jersey: the club says betting revenue also helps support Olympic sports, youth development and other departments that don’t generate enough money to sustain themselves independently.
There is also a practical problem. The government has given operators and clubs only a short window to remove betting advertising from circulation, which Flamengo argues is difficult when shirts have already been manufactured and sold, stadium signage installed and broadcast deals scheduled months in advance.
The club said they were not opposed to tighter regulation, but argued that an abrupt reversal raises questions about the “legal certainty” of contracts signed under rules previously established by the state. This has become the central complaint of Brazilian football.
As InsideWorldFootball reported earlier this week, clubs had already coordinated resistance to government talks in Brasilia, with Flamengo and Palmeiras leading the charge for a planned boycott. Ultimately, the meeting was postponed, officially due to travel difficulties, with no replacement date confirmed yet.
The commercial damage is already beginning to be felt. Serie A clubs received around R$1.03 billion in betting sponsorships by 2025, while Corinthians have since received a R$120 million approach from adult services platform Fatal Model as they look for alternatives to their flagship Esportes da Sorte deal.
Meanwhile, Flamengo’s own Betano deal has stalled while the legal and political battle unfolds.
The government’s position is that the ban is necessary to tackle gambling addiction and household debt. Its September 25 measure bans the operation, brokering and advertising of fixed-odds betting, and enforcement already extends to thousands of websites and hundreds of apps.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at (email protected)
