BNDES rules out credit line for clubs hit by betting ban

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·27 September 2026

BNDES rules out credit line for clubs hit by betting ban

Negotiations over financial aid were circulating behind the scenes alongside the debate over the Provisional Measure (MP)

The Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) has, for now, ruled out creating a credit line aimed at helping football clubs affected by the ban on betting companies in Brazil. The possibility of financial support was circulating behind the scenes alongside discussions over the Provisional Measure (MP) issued by the Government to ban virtual betting activities in the country.

Clubs from Serie A and Serie B of the Brazilian Championship sought financial support from the Federal Government last Thursday (24) to ease the crisis caused by the end of sponsorship deals with betting companies. However, the BNDES credit line, the main alternative considered to make the bailout possible, will not cover the clubs at this time.

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“BNDES did not take part in any external or internal discussion or debate about the possibility of financing football clubs. The Bank is statutorily prohibited from granting financing to clubs. Therefore, the information that BNDES will operate a subsidized credit line for this group is incorrect,” the bank said in a statement.

BETS BANNED?

The Federal Government ordered the ban on the operations of sports betting platforms in the country last Friday (25). The measure was publicly announced by Finance Minister Dario Durigan, alongside the President of the Republic, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and other members of the ministry.

CLUBS SPONSORED BY BETTING COMPANIES

Currently, 14 of the 20 clubs in Serie A of the Brazilian Championship display betting platform brands as their main sponsors. Most of the country’s top football institutions maintain partnership agreements with these companies, with deals such as Betano with Flamengo, Sportingbet with Palmeiras and Vasco, Betnacional with Cruzeiro, as well as Superbet with Fluminense and São Paulo standing out.

Flamengo, in fact, appears among those most exposed to the government measure. The Rubro-Negro has with Betano the biggest sponsorship deal in Brazilian football, bringing in fixed revenue of R$ 268 million per season.

LOSS FOR FLAMENGO

Flamengo expressed major concern over the lack of immediate alternatives in the advertising market after the MP. The Rubro-Negro’s president, Luiz Eduardo Baptista, projected enormous losses and revealed that, at the moment, the club has no plan B.

“It is very difficult, in the short term, for us to say what we can do, because this has been a very drastic measure. I would be lying if I said we have a plan B for this. We do not. We never considered the possibility that existing contracts based on an absolutely legal model, approved by the National Congress, with concessions officially and legally issued, could be eliminated, so to speak, in such a short period of time. So, we are concerned about this possibility and we still do not have an alternative plan whatsoever. What I can say is that Flamengo is a responsible club, it made a long-term commitment based on the legal contracts we signed with a betting company and, as far as Flamengo is concerned, the impact next year, beyond the sponsorship itself, will be around R$ 400 million in the club’s revenue. Because there are some indirect impacts, and that alone means Flamengo will not be able to honor the commitments it made for next year. So, it is an environment where you were operating entirely within the law, and it is something that causes us great concern if it is actually carried out,” Bap said in an interview with ‘Metrópoles’.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.