Fluminense president reveals R$100m+ hit after betting ends

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·26 September 2026

Fluminense president reveals R$100m+ hit after betting ends

The federal government's decision to ban the operation, offering, intermediation, and advertising of fixed-odds betting in Brazil will have a direct impact on Fluminense’s finances. In an interview with CNN Brasil, president Mattheus Montenegro said the club estimates losses of more than R$ 100 million as a result of the measure signed by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Friday (25).

Provisional Measure No. 1,394 orders the end of the operations of the so-called betting companies in the country and also bars advertising by the sector. Authorized companies have until October 5 to remove advertising materials and sponsorships, while websites and apps will stop operating as of October 6.

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During the interview, Montenegro explained that the impact on Fluminense goes far beyond the sponsorship displayed on the shirt. According to the executive, stadium signage contracts and products already manufactured are also part of the equation.

This is a decision that greatly worries Fluminense, right, but not only Fluminense — Brazilian football as a whole as well. Because, without getting into the political merits of the measure, this is something that was decided overnight, and the impact is very large, right? Here at Fluminense, we’re facing an impact of more than 100 million because, in addition to the main sponsorship, it also affects contracts we have such as pitch-side boards and shirts that have already been produced, right, since shirts are produced six months in advance. So it’s a very big impact that greatly worries us here about Fluminense’s future.

Fluminense sees difficulty in replacing sponsorship

For Mattheus Montenegro, the problem is not only the loss of the current sponsor. Since the measure simultaneously affects betting companies that invest in football, several clubs will start looking for new partners at the same time.

In the Fluminense president’s view, this scenario could reduce the commercial value of clubs’ assets, since there will be a large number of shirts, boards, and other advertising spaces available on the market.

It’s very difficult, Márcio, because it’s natural in the market, right, for one club to lose sponsorship and another not to, because of contract expiration dates. And this is a measure that causes most Brazilian football clubs to lose that sponsorship at the same time. So obviously that devalues the asset, because any company interested in sponsoring a football club will have almost all clubs available at the same time. So this greatly devalues the asset and causes the shirt to lose market value.

The situation also affects clubs’ financial planning, since they had already made commitments taking into account the revenue from sponsorship contracts.

President mentions possibility of legal action

Another point addressed in the interview was the possibility of the clubs reacting in court. Montenegro said Fluminense already sees legal grounds to challenge the measure and cited, among other points, legal certainty and the absence of a broader transition period.

The president also questioned the effectiveness of the ban given the existence of illegal betting platforms and said the clubs are expected to turn to the Judiciary.

No, without a doubt. We have some arguments, right, to challenge this government measure. The first of them is, without a doubt, legal certainty. And here again, without getting into the political merits of the measure, the fact is that, overnight, with no transition period whatsoever, it very clearly violates the law, right? It violates the Constitution. We also have other points that can be raised, such as this… the betting sector raised 9 billion for the government between January and August 2026. So this measure, even if indirectly, brings about a loss of revenue for the government, a significant loss. And I didn’t see in the Provisional Measure that was published any estimate of the impact of this measure. So that is another factor.

Not to mention the key point, right, which is the measure’s effectiveness. Because one thing is banning regulated betting companies; another thing is banning gambling. Gambling, we know, in this digital world, is very difficult for the government to ban all at once, because every day there are more illegal betting companies in the world. So in the end, you are shutting down the regulated sector, where companies have control over bettors — that is, over those who are in Minha Casa Minha Vida and cannot gamble, over those who are in Bolsa Família and cannot gamble — and leaving the free market… the underground market free, right?

So there are several legal points that can be raised, not to mention the issue of the Provisional Measure itself, which under the Constitution must be relevant and urgent. In this case, I have no doubt that it is relevant, but there is no urgency whatsoever. There was a bill being debated on the subject in Congress that the government had ignored all this time, and now it has decided to do it through a Provisional Measure. So there is no shortage of legal arguments and, without a doubt, the clubs will appeal to the Judiciary.

The PM was indeed issued with the force of law and is currently under review in the National Congress. The text bans the operation, offering, intermediation, and advertising of fixed-odds betting, including sports betting and online games.

Superbet had already signaled its exit

During the interview with CNN Brasil, Mattheus also revealed that Fluminense’s main sponsor had already informed the club that it would terminate the contract if the measure announced by the government was actually implemented.

According to the president, after the publication of the PM there had not yet been a new notice, but the club had already been informed in advance of the company’s intention.

Our sponsor had already sent a notice saying that if the government followed through on its promise to issue the Provisional Measure, it would terminate the contract. After the publication of the PM there was no new notice, but they had already warned us beforehand what was going to be done.

Shirts already produced worry the club

The problem has also reached retail. Since the official shirts are manufactured in advance, the club currently has products bearing the sponsor’s brand already distributed to stores.

Montenegro said Fluminense currently has more than 30 official stores and that there is a significant stock of these products. With the ban on betting advertising, retailers are faced with the need to remove or stop selling items they have already purchased.

The point I was referring to, Márcio, was about the stores, right? Today we have more than 30 official stores with a very large inventory. And it’s a very big loss for the shopkeeper, for the store employees, for the people who work in the ecosystem. Football has a very large chain. Everyone is harmed, but especially in this part involving the shirts, retailers are desperate, not knowing what to do because they won’t be able to sell a product they acquired. And responsibility, at the end of the day, always comes back to the club, right? So the retailers will ask Fluminense to reimburse the losses they have. And the question I ask is: who will reimburse Fluminense?

The schedule also increases pressure on the club. Fluminense returns to the field on October 8, after the FIFA international break, already within the period in which betting advertising must have been removed, according to the timetable established by the government.

For Tricolor, therefore, the measure interferes with commercial contracts, materials already produced, store inventory, and the club’s financial planning for the coming years. The possibility of a legal dispute should be one of Fluminense’s next moves (and of Brazilian football as a whole) in light of the new scenario.

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