The Chilean government has granted a period of 30 days for the National Association of Professional Football (ANFP) to interrupt the contracts, considered irregular, that it has with bookmakers.
According to O Globo, the ANFP has one month to break these partnerships, effective from September 1st.
“According to the legislation in force (…) we consider that this activity is carried out outside the law”, said Jaime Gajardo, Undersecretary of Justice.
“Failure to comply with this instruction authorizes the Ministry of Justice (…) to request the State Defense Council to dissolve or extinguish the legal personality” of the ANFP, he added.
Bookmakers and Chilean football
The ANFP reached an agreement with Betsson earlier this year. The contract also allowed the bookmaker to name the top two football divisions in Chile.
According to the newspaper La Tercera, the sports organization received around 2.5 million dollars a year as a result of this arrangement.
Most of the 16 Chilean teams in the first division of football also have companies in the sector as sponsors. The Ministry of Justice asked the ANFP for a list of clubs that have agreements with bookmakers, in order to also demand their termination.
In August of last year, the Ministry of Justice started to investigate Chilean football agreements with bookmakers at the request of seven deputies. The politicians indicated “possible legal violations committed by the ANFP”.
In Brazil, 19 of the 20 clubs participating in the soccer elite have partnerships with bookmakers. Companies in this segment also sponsor teams from lower divisions or traditional teams in their respective states.
Response from the National Professional Football Association
The sports entity published an official note informing that it will analyze the matter, but that it is an institution that ‘respects the decisions of the authorities and, therefore, will strictly comply with the final resolution’.
Check out the official statement:
“The National Professional Football Association (ANFP) was notified by the Undersecretary of Justice of the result of an investigation, requested by a group of parliamentarians, regarding the sponsorship contracts it maintains with an online bookmaker.
In this regard, the ANFP informs that the aforementioned resolution is being duly analyzed by its legal team, to determine the different alternatives to what was resolved by the administrative authority.
The ANFP is an institution that respects the decisions of the authorities and, therefore, will strictly comply with the final resolution of this matter”.
