Flamengo backs regulated sports betting market in Brazil and warns federal government over possible rule change

Flamengo has issued a statement on behalf of Brazilian football defending the regulated sports betting market and urging the federal government to crack down on illegal gambling. The timing matters for PSPs and operators because the club is arguing that a sudden rule change would hit existing sponsorships, long-term contracts, and club finances already built around the current framework.

1. On Tuesday, September 22, Flamengo published a text defending the maintenance of Brazil’s regulated sports betting market and calling for strict action against illegal gambling. The statement was released while clubs were coordinating against a possible Medida Provisória from President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) that could change the regulation of betting and online games.
2. The club’s core argument is not just about protecting revenue. It says Brazil already went through “a broad process of discussion, followed by deliberation and approval by the National Congress,” and that regulation established operating rules, enforcement mechanisms, and consumer protections. In other words: the industry built its model on a state-sanctioned framework, and the state should not rewrite it overnight.
3. Flamengo says a reversal would put existing sponsorship contracts, many of them long-term, financial commitments, and player recruitment decisions at risk. The statement warns that “a change of this nature would put already assumed commitments at risk and could cause a strong financial imbalance in clubs, with a direct impact on the sustainability of Brazilian football.”
4. The club also draws a hard line between fighting illegality and shrinking the legal market. It says it is “inappropriate to replace the fight against illegality with the abrupt restriction of a market that was legalized, regulated and taxed by the state itself,” arguing that the underground market offers less oversight, transparency, and consumer protection than the regulated one.
5. Flamengo rejects the idea that consumer protection and a regulated betting market are mutually exclusive. Its position is that both can and should happen at the same time: fight illegal gambling, improve enforcement, strengthen prevention tools, expand consumer information, and provide “attention and treatment for people who develop problematic gambling behavior.”

The practical message for the market is simple: Brazil’s football sector is trying to defend the current regulated setup while pushing the government to focus enforcement on unlicensed operators rather than reshaping the legal market. For PSPs, that means the regulatory direction is still politically active, and any abrupt change would be tested not just in policy terms but in contract-heavy payment flows tied to sponsorship and club financing.