Sports betting has long been a partner of football, whether it be in terms of sponsorship deals between brands and clubs or leagues, or the love which many football fans have for betting. Sites like Legalbet.co have been providing such fun for years now.
The landscape of sponsorships in Brazilian football has undergone a dramatic transformation over the past two years, primarily driven by the rapid expansion of sports betting companies.
According to reports, total spending on master shirt sponsorships in the Brasileirão Série A skyrocketed from R$496 million in 2023 to R$1.117 billion in 2025, marking a remarkable 125% growth.
This surge underscores the aggressive strategies betting companies employ to establish brand presence and overcome product differentiation challenges within the sector. In a short period, they have replaced traditional sectors like food, pharmaceuticals, banks, and public institutions as the primary financial supporters of club sponsorships.
The most striking example of this new sponsorship reality is Flamengo. With the largest fan base in the country and extraordinary on-pitch results, the club secured a historic sponsorship agreement with Betano, worth R$268 million for 2025. This deal represents the highest master sponsorship in Brazilian football history and a 215% increase from the club’s R$85 million deal in 2023.
Industry professionals attribute the betting companies' ability to invest more aggressively in marketing to their business model. Companies that do not need to invest heavily in production, logistics, research, and physical operations can maintain lighter structures and greater financial flexibility.
High-margin and intensely competitive industries often have cost structures dominated by marketing, technology development, and compliance departments. As their “product” is essentially homogeneous across providers, high-margin master sponsorships may be seen as the ultimate tool for rapid brand recognition, credibility, and differentiation.
With 18 of 20 Série A teams currently sponsored by bookmakers, demand for the coveted front-of-shirt position has soared. This trend has pushed traditional sponsors out of master deals, as the necessary investments of R$200–300 million exceed their total annual marketing budgets.
Moreover, betting companies can see immediate and quantifiable returns, such as spikes in betting volume during televised matches, which not all other sectors can achieve.
The sponsorship cycles of Brazilian football have always mirrored broader political and economic moments. For instance, Coca-Cola dominated the market in the 1990s, while banks, especially Caixa Econômica Federal, became the leading sponsors in the 2010s, often due to government interest in national visibility.
The current dominance of betting companies forms part of a wider pattern where industries characterised by high liquidity and strategic motives often seize major sponsorship opportunities.
The Brazilian Congress is considering proposals that may limit betting advertising. One of the projects already approved in the Senate prohibits influencers, athletes, and public figures from promoting betting brands. Clubs fear these restrictions may reduce revenues by R$1.6 billion annually.
Analysts expect mergers and acquisitions to further reduce the number of operators as the market matures. Companies with established user bases may no longer need massive investments in marketing, thus naturally cutting back on sponsorship expenditures.
While some speculate that advertising restrictions will eventually follow international trends, as has occurred with alcohol and tobacco, experts believe that the strong industry influence in Congress makes any outright ban in the near future unlikely.
Brazilian football, and the Brazilian Serie A, is now well into this new era of sponsorship, driven by an unprecedented amount of investment from betting companies.
While this aggressive growth has reshaped the marketplace, displaced traditional brands, and inflated prices, the long-term sustainability of this model heavily depends on regulatory outcomes and market consolidation. However, for the foreseeable future, betting brands remain firmly in control of the most valuable real estate on Brazilian football shirts.
