The Clubs that sign this declaration express their great concern regarding the Substitute Proposal presented, on 21.5.2025, by Senator Carlos Portinho, to Bill No. 2.985/23, for commercial limitations on the broadcasting of advertising by operators and bets on sporting events and entities.

 

In truth, the Project, as presented in the substitute, is a prohibition disguised as a limitation.

 

As stated by a significant number of Brazilian football clubs on two previous occasions, during public hearings on the subject held by the STF and the Senate, such limitation, if not adjusted, will result in the financial COLLAPSE of the entire sports ecosystem and, in particular, Brazilian football.

 

The Brazilian sports sector will lose approximately R$1,6 billion/year as an immediate consequence of the eventual entry into force of Senator Carlos Portinho's Substitute Bill, if approved.

 

The ban on displaying operators' brands on static properties – signs – in sports venues, contained in the wording of the Substitute, takes away essential revenue from clubs.

 

The severe financial losses will be quite significant for the major clubs. However, what is even more cruel about the Substitute Bill is that these new rules could be definitive for the survival of smaller clubs, which also carry out important social work and carry the emotional bond of their communities in the regions where they are based.

 

It is worth mentioning that the financial collapse will be accompanied by a legal collapse, considering that a significant number of clubs have contracts for the assignment of advertising space on stadium billboards with a term of at least 3 years, which must be renegotiated or terminated.

 

On this specific point, the clubs see as a necessary and constructive advance the recent Amendment presented, on 23.05.2025/2985/2023, by Senator Romário (PL 1/17), which proposes the inclusion of item III to §14.790º-D of art. 2023 of Law No. XNUMX of XNUMX. This amendment seeks to allow static or electronic advertising when it is "linked to commercial spaces previously contracted with those responsible for managing the sports venue, observing the specific rules of the competition and safeguarding the rights of third parties duly formalized".

 

 

Accepting this amendment is crucial because, as justified by the honorable Senator, it provides "greater legal certainty and effectiveness to the advertising discipline" in these locations and aims to "make the betting regulatory regime compatible with the contractual and operational reality of Brazilian sports arenas", in addition to ensuring "predictability for economic agents" and protecting the "duly formalized rights of third parties", meeting the need to safeguard current contracts and the revenues arising from them.

 

Despite the importance of accepting this amendment, maintaining the original terms of the Substitute Bill still significantly violates the rights to free competition. The possibility of displaying only one betting operator in the arenas, for example, will only direct consumers to a single competitor in the market, which will therefore be the sole beneficiary of such a measure, without guaranteeing bettor protection through effective advertising policies like those already adopted in the country.

 

In this vein, Brazilian clubs are not unaware of the negative externalities resulting from the years between 2018 and 2024, when the government failed to regulate betting in Brazil. On the contrary, they support any and all measures that promote the concept of "Responsible Gaming." So much so that Brazilian clubs have advocated for the implementation and oversight of CONAR's recently published Annex X, which was studied by the responsible body over months and aims to regulate messages and encourage the concept of Responsible Gaming.

 

But defending Responsible Gaming doesn't mean that a near-total restriction is the solution. Indeed, international experience demonstrates this.

 

Italy, after implementing a strict ban on gambling advertising in 2018 (the "Dignitá Decree") under the premise of reducing gambling addiction, gambling-related problems, and debt, is now considering relaxing these restrictions. As reported by the consultancy DLA Piper in the article "Italy to Lift Gambling Advertising Ban? A Key Moment for Market Entry ("Italy to Lift Gambling Advertising Ban? A Key Moment for Market Entry")"[1], the Italian government is evaluating this change as part of a sector reorganization. This Italian reassessment suggests that overly broad bans may not be the most effective long-term solution to reconcile consumer protection interests and the health of the regulated market.

 

In view of this, and considering that Brazilian regulation is absolutely recent, having been in full force since January 2025, it seems hasty at this time to adopt such restrictive measures as those still contained in the Substitute, and which will cause such serious damage as those described above.

 

Brazilian clubs expect the Senate committees responsible for examining Senator Carlos Portinho's Substitute Bill and the amendments that improve it, such as Senator Romário's, to show prudence, responsibility, and concern for the damage they may cause to Brazilian football and sport as cultural heritage of the Nation.