Brazil’s government plans meeting with football clubs after betting ban, as sponsorship losses hit the Serie A

The Lula government will call football clubs to a meeting next week to discuss possible support after a provisional measure banned betting sites across Brazil. For high-risk PSPs and acquirers, the immediate issue is not the politics; it is the contract unwind, the revenue hole at clubs, and the knock-on risk for merchants tied to betting sponsorships.

1. The government’s first step is to hear club executives, map the damage, and decide later on what kind of help, if any, it can offer. Officials want to know what percentage of club revenue will be hit by the ban.
2. The meeting will include a committee with club representatives. The move is also meant to cool down the backlash from teams ahead of the first round of elections on Sunday, October 4.
3. Brazil’s Sports Minister, Paulo Henrique Perna Cordeiro, has already been speaking with clubs to reduce tension. The line repeated inside the government is that “football always lived without bets.”
4. Betting money is material for Brazilian clubs: 14 of the 20 Serie A clubs are sponsored by betting companies. Flamengo receives R$ 268,5 million per season from Betano and said it has no “plan B” to replace that gap. Fluminense said Superbet, which is contracted until the end of 2029 at R$ 58 million per year, informed the club about the possibility of terminating the deal.
5. The government’s stated justification is the fight against over-indebtedness of Brazilian families. The ban covers slot-style games such as the “tigrinho” game, crash games such as the “aviãozinho,” plus virtual roulette and sports betting. Once the provisional measure is published, these products are prohibited nationwide.

For payment providers and banking partners, the useful read here is straightforward: when a jurisdiction suddenly bans an entire betting category, sponsorship contracts start moving before the legal dust settles. The clubs are now looking for transition time; the government has not yet decided what support, if any, it will provide.