If Brazil decides to legalize gambling, sportsbook operator Betfair wants to be ready. It has announced a partnership with the South American Football (soccer, for the U.S. readers) Confederation (CONMEBOL) that sees it become the organization’s official partner. Brazil is somewhat of an enigma when it comes to sports gambling, allowing some forms while not legalizing the activity completely.
The partnership allows Betfair to display its logo in advertisements at stadiums, as well as through broadcast and social media channels. The Flutter Entertainment-owned company will join the ranks of other multinational companies, such as MasterCard, Qatar Airways and Bridgestone, that are regular fixtures at CONMEBOL games.
In a statement about the new partnership, Betfair Head of Brands Stephen Mault states, “We are delighted to be the official betting partner of the CONMEBOL Libertadores and CONMEBOL Sudamericana. These two prestigious tournaments have provided so many memorable moments in world football throughout the ages and we are very proud to be supporting the action for the next three years. We look forward to seeing how the rest of this year’s tournaments unfold.”
Brazil recently launched a consultation on whether or not online and land-based sports gambling should be legalized in the country. It runs through the end of this month and is designed to explore seven different areas of regulations on gambling. The move comes after Brazil’s former president signed a vague sports gambling law last year, setting in motion the creation of the consultation and a formal framework that should follow.
The commercial director for CONMEBOL, Juan Emilio Roa, said of the latest partnership, “We are pleased to present Betfair as a partner of the CONMEBOL Libertadores and CONMEBOL Sudamericana. With this important partnership, we add another global brand to the international status of South American football.”
Latin America as a whole has been seen as the next big market for all types of gambling, especially sports gambling. From Brazil to Colombia to Argentina, there has been a lot of interest building up lately, and Colombia’s online gambling market grew by 63% in the first half of this year. However, Argentina recently got a little bit of bad news when the country’s Primary Elections showed that anti-gambling politicians were slightly ahead of pro-casino lawmakers ahead of the upcoming General Elections in October.
