TLDR Vitória president Fábio Mota says Brazil’s new betting restrictions are costing the club R$3 million a month. The club had built its budget around R$45 million in expected betting sponsorship revenue. Mota said the rules came in with no transition period to protect existing sponsorship contracts. Lost income could put the club at risk of penalties, including a transfer ban, and it owes R$15 million to Grêmio. Vitória is seeking new sponsors and may sell players, but Mota says other brands pay far less.
Brazilian football club Vitória is facing a large gap in its budget after the government’s new restrictions on betting, according to club president Fábio Mota.
The club is based in the state of Bahia and plays in Série A, the country’s top league. Mota said the rules took effect without any transition period for clubs or sponsors.
He said the club is now losing R$3 million every month. Vitória has had to rework its financial plans and search for other sources of income.
Why Vitória Wanted a Transition Period
Mota said a short adjustment window would have given clubs time to change their budgets. It also could have required betting companies to keep paying on existing contracts until they expired.
“In three months you could have managed a transition,” Mota said. He added that it could have been made clear to betting firms that they still had to pay their bills.
Instead, he said, the club must now rethink its entire plan while also handling contracts with other companies.
The club had prepared its budget based on R$45 million raised from betting sponsorships. Mota said Vitória now has to continue without that money.
“We are losing R$3 million a month, which is very hard to deal with,” he said. He added that