Palmeiras has received a proposal from Sportingbet to become the new main sponsor of the men's team, as reported by media outlets such as UOL and Estadão, among others. The British platform and the club's marketing department have been in discussions for months. There is no agreement yet, but the company's proposal has so far pleased the Palmeiras board the most.
Sportingbet is negotiating with the Palmeiras men's team to be its future main sponsor, replacing the current Crefisa.
The next sponsor of Palmeiras is not expected to have an exclusivity contract, unlike the one with Crefisa and FAM, which are about to end. President Leila Pereira, who recently indicated that she finds it healthy to seek new partners for the club. The board's plan is to close deals worth around R$ 150 million annually in sponsorships across all shirt properties, with the possibility of reaching R$ 170 million if targets are met.
Two sources told Estadão that Leila Pereira is not keen on the idea of having a national betting house as the main sponsor of Palmeiras, but approves a foreign bet with solidity and long-standing market presence, and sees this in Sportingbet. The club and the betting house did not comment when approached.
So far, all contacts with Brazilian bets have not progressed. Betnacional, Pixbet and Esportes da Sorte expressed interest in sponsoring the team, but talks have not advanced. Betnacional even presented a proposal of R$ 100 million annually, but received no response from the club's marketing department.
There is still concern among some people within Palmeiras about having a betting house on the most prominent space of the uniform, but there is an understanding that Sportingbet is a solid and reliable company. The betting house is an official sponsor of Conmebol and displays its brand in the Libertadores, South American, and Recopa tournaments, as well as sponsoring football on Globo.
Last July, Sportingbet requested authorization from the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets of the Ministry of Finance to operate in the fixed-odds betting and online gaming market in Brazil. The sector was regulated after Congress approved a law at the end of last year, sanctioned on December 29 by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, which established criteria on taxation and rules for the commercial exploitation of fixed-odds betting and defined the distribution of collected revenue and set sanctions. However, the new rules will only come into effect next year.
To operate in the country, betting houses will have to meet a series of requirements set by the Ministry of Finance, including having headquarters in Brazil and paying a grant of up to R$ 30 million.
Consulted by the GMB portal, the Sportingbet press office said it had no information on the matter.
End of the Crefisa Era?
At the event where she officially launched her candidacy for re-election as president, Leila indicated that her companies, Crefisa and FAM, will stop sponsoring the club after a decade.
“I will advance to you: I think it is healthy that we have other partners,” the executive signaled. “It may be that Crefisa will leave the shirt of Palmeiras, but Palmeiras will never leave the life of the president of Crefisa. I think everything has a cycle in life, we did a lot for Palmeiras, and Palmeiras did a lot for my companies”.
With Crefisa and FAM, Palmeiras had the largest sponsorship in the country, but the values became outdated and rivals began to have more valuable shirts, especially after betting houses dominated the market. The current agreement yields R$ 81 million fixed per season to Palmeiras - with the possibility of reaching R$ 120 million if targets are met by titles won.
Since 2019, Leila's companies have been paying this amount. In 2021, the then-president Maurício Galiotte renewed the agreement for more and decided to maintain the figures, without including a clause for adjustment and correction of values, which generated criticism from fans for the understanding that the sponsorship is outdated, pointing out that rivals have managed to secure more lucrative deals.
Since stating that she would open competition, Leila has defended her companies and stated that she will not get "into this pile" in relation to higher amounts that sponsors pay to Palmeiras' rivals. According to her, negotiations are conducted to ward off possible "adventurers," that is, non-reputable companies.
Source: GMB
