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Emergency credit lines for football clubs hit by Brazil’s fixed-odds betting ban would not be given top priority by Governor Tarcísio de Freitas of São Paulo State. In a statement on September 30, he noted that state taxpayers’ dollars should be allocated first to sectors and businesses deemed more reliant on government support.
“We have other priorities. I have people who need more help from the state, I have merchants who need help from the state, we have companies that need help from the state,” Tarcísio said. He pointed to businesses that would be impacted by U.S. tariffs and agriculture in rural areas that would suffer losses in the wake of recent climate-related disasters as areas that needed government assistance.
São Paulo Clubs Assess Financial Impact of Betting Ban
The clubs from Brazil’s top two divisions were considering the financial implications of the federal government’s move at the São Paulo Football Federation (FPF) headquarters, while Tarcísio spoke. The meeting was dedicated in particular to the loss of sponsorship income after the ban on betting platforms.
The effect on Brazilian football will be huge. Previously, there were 20 clubs in the country’s highest division, including 13 that bet with a company as their primary sponsor, and the amount of money was estimated at nearly R$1 billion. Since then, several clubs have tried to pursue a legal challenge to the federal measure, arguing that the measure will have financial implications that could lead to the end of agreements that have been negotiated under the old regulations.
Tarcísio Criticizes Federal Government’s Approach
Tarcísio has condemned the model followed by the federal government in the implementation of the betting ban, turning down government funding for clubs, but criticizing it. On September 26, he dubbed the measure “electoral opportunism” because the government had become “urgent” only a few weeks before the presidential election.
“Of course it is electoral opportunism. What is upsetting is this: the sense of urgency was only developed now. They only realized that this is a problem now, nine days, one week before the election,” said Tarcísio. He also raised the possibility of using public funds to pay out to football clubs for the losses incurred as a result of the policy.
Governor Opposes Betting but Questions Legal Uncertainty
Tarcísio has voiced his concern with online betting, while at the same time he has taken a stand against certain types of online betting. He said he hopes there will be no more online casinos or games like “Tigrinho”; however, he said, he was not against the activity itself, but against the timing and implementation of the federal measure.
The governor has also expressed worries that the law isn’t clear and that contracts signed during the time that betting was legalized under the Brazilian regulatory structure will be disrupted. His job, then, was to be an opponent of some gambling and a critic of the government’s action of terminating the regulated market without a transition.
The lack of an emergency state credit is another restriction for clubs in São Paulo, who evaluate the consequences of the loss of betting sponsorships. At the same time, the bigger disagreement has hit the courts, as football clubs and industry bodies fight the federal ban and try to have their say on its impact on existing deals and the sports economy.
Source: iGaming Brasil
