Flamengo says Brazil’s betting ban could cost the club up to R$ 400 million a year

Flamengo president Luiz Eduardo Batista, known as Bap, says Brazil’s provisional measure restricting unlicensed sportsbooks could wipe out up to R$ 400 million a year in revenue for the Rio club. For high-risk operators, the interesting part is not just the master sponsorship with Betano, but the wider chain reaction: stadium signage, broadcast rights, and Olympic-sport funding.

1. Bap made the comments on Tuesday (29/9) in an interview on Mengo Cast on Flamengo TV. He said the federal government’s measure against betting companies without a license in Brazil threatens the club’s commercial structure, not just one deal.
2. According to him, the impact reaches the master sponsorship with Betano, advertising boards at Maracanã, rights to broadcast the Campeonato Carioca, and contributions earmarked for Flamengo’s Olympic sports program. In other words, the club is describing a revenue stack, not a single sponsorship line.
3. Bap also tied the measure to football operations. He said Flamengo is current on all of its financial obligations, but future revenue losses could hit payroll and transfers directly. His example was blunt: “How am I going to pay Paquetá in January?” He added that the club may have to “hire lawyers” instead of players.
4. There is an immediate inventory problem as well. Bap said about 150,000 official shirts with the Betano branding are already in stock for year-end sales, and they will be prohibited from sale starting in early October.
5. He rejected the idea that Brazilian football depends artificially on betting money, arguing that if every club looks for new sponsors at the same time, market prices will fall. He said a master sponsorship that once sold for R$ 100 million could end up closing at R$ 30 or R$ 40 million. He also dismissed a R$ 20 billion credit line announced by the federal government via BNDES for club restructuring, saying Flamengo does not owe anyone money and the problem is future cash flow, not past debt.

Flamengo is waiting for the outcome of direct constitutional challenges filed against the provisional measure at the Supremo Tribunal Federal (STF) by gaming-industry associations, as well as discussions still underway in the Senate. Until the legal picture clears, the club says it will honor its contract with Betano.