Bap slams Brazil betting ban, asks how he will pay Lucas Paquetá | OneFootball

Flamengo president Luiz Eduardo Baptista, Bap, has renewed his attack on Brazil’s betting ban, warning it jeopardises commitments such as paying Lucas Paquetá and could hit the club’s finances and planning.

“We took on medium to long-term obligations under legal contracts. It is now clear that a series of future commitments are seriously threatened. We will face enormous difficulty meeting them under the current terms,” he said to FlamengoTV.

“It causes legal uncertainty and is hard to understand a week before the election. In 80% of countries controlled gambling is allowed. How am I going to pay Paquetá in January?”

Flamengo signed Paquetá with payments in instalments. He has projected losses of up to R$ 430 million in 2027. Betano has informally signalled it could end a master deal worth about R$ 268 million per season through 2028.

Sinafut has asked the Supreme Court to suspend the measure, or allow a transition until the end of the 2026 season. The ban is not final, Congress must vote within 120 days to turn it into law.

Signed on Friday 25 by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the provisional measure took immediate effect. Users can withdraw balances until 23:59 on five October, after which platforms go offline and sponsorship brands must be removed.

Source: Coluna Do Fla

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”