More than half of the 20 clubs in the Brazilian Serie A have signed a manifesto against the Bill that bans the broadcasting of advertising by sportsbooks in the country. The Bill also imposes new restrictions on campaigns related to the betting market in Brazil.
The document warns of the impacts that the decision may have on the teams’ finances and the consequences for the Brazilian football ecosystem. The text was published on the official channels of 11 teams in the Brazilian Serie A. The vote on the bill is scheduled for this Wednesday (28), in the Senate.
Bill 2,985/2023 was authored by Senator Styvenson Valentim (PODEMOS-RN) and has Senator Carlos Portinho (PL-RJ) as rapporteur.
The text expands the restrictive measures for marketing campaigns between sportsbooks and clubs. Among them is the ban on direct advertising such as master sponsorships on uniforms. Therefore, another point is the fact that it limits the use of athletes and public figures in advertisements.
In addition, the Bill determines specific times for the broadcasting of advertising material and mandatory warnings about the risks associated with betting. Currently, 100% of the teams in the first division have sportsbooks as sponsors, whether they are masters or not.
Clubs against the PL that bans sportsbook sponsorship
The PL under debate in the Senate generated a joint movement by some first division clubs in a manifesto entitled “Joint Declaration of Brazilian Football Clubs”.
“Brazilian clubs expect the Senate committees responsible for examining the Substitute Bill proposed by Senator Carlos Portinho, and the amendment that improves it, such as that proposed by Senator Romário, to be prudent, responsible and concerned about the damage that they may cause to Brazilian football and sport as cultural heritage of the Nation,” says the text.
Another part of the text cites the estimated loss to Brazilian football due to the proposal. “The Brazilian sports sector will lose approximately R$1.6 billion/year as an immediate consequence of the eventual entry into force of Senator Carlos Portinho’s Substitute Bill, if approved.”
Manifesto cites market regulation and responsible gaming
The regulation of the betting market and responsible gaming are also present in the manifesto. “Brazilian clubs do not ignore the negative externalities that are a consequence of the years, between 2018 and 2024, in which the Government stopped regulating betting in Brazil. On the contrary, they associate themselves with any and all measures that promote the concepts of “Responsible Gaming”.
“So much so that Brazilian clubs defended the application and monitoring of the recently published Annex X of CONAR, which was studied by the responsible body over the course of months and which aims to regulate messages and encourage the concepts of Responsible Gaming.”
“In view of this, and considering that Brazilian regulation is absolutely recent, having been in full force since January 2025, it seems hasty at this time to adopt such restrictive measures as those still included in the Substitute, and which will cause such serious damage as those described above”, states the statement released by the clubs.
The clubs Atlético Mineiro, Botafogo, Ceará, Flamengo, Fluminense, Fortaleza, Juventude, Grêmio, Mirassol, Palmeiras and RB Bragantino published the manifesto on their official pages. In these cases, all with the same text. However, some teams such as Flamengo, Fluminense, Mirassol and Grêmio posted part of the manifesto on their social networks.
While Bahia, Corinthians, Cruzeiro, Internacional, Santos, São Paulo, Sport, Vasco and Vitória had not issued the document or taken a position on the subject until the publication of this report.
