Brazil’s ban on X, formerly Twitter, has had a long-reaching impact across various industries. Sport is no exception, with football clubs losing a key platform for engaging with fans and distributing news and content.
Other stakeholders connected to the sports industry have likewise taken a hit. This includes betting firms and affiliate marketing companies which service both sectors. Some have an unsurprisingly pessimistic view of the situation, believing that similar clampdowns in other countries are not a far-fetched possibility.
“We will see governments being increasingly restrictive with platforms and platforms being more restrictive with industries such as betting and gambling,” said Carlos Sanchez, CEO at TipsterChat, speaking on the SBC Digital Affiliate Marketing Day this week.
X was suspended in Brazil, effectively banned, as a result of a long-running dispute between Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes and X’s owner, South African-American business tycoon Elon Musk.
X was ultimately banned after failing to meet a court-imposed deadline to appoint a new legal representative in Brazil. The Supreme Court would later uphold this ruling, meaning Brazilians will not be able to access X anytime soon.
The decision has proven divisive, both within Brazil and further afield, with Musk and others labelling it a clampdown on freedom of expression. This viewpoint is shared by some in the sports affiliate space.
“Blocking things is outrageous – we shouldn’t be seeing this in Brazil if it is a democracy”, said Alessandro Valente, Co-Founder of Super Afiliados, who also labelled the ban ‘the worst kind of decision’.
Betting stakeholders have a number of concerns about the ban. Firstly, X presents a significant opportunity for bookmakers to engage with the sports ecosystem, including both clubs and fans.
Secondly, the ban comes ahead of Brazil launching a nationwide betting market later this year, which many operators have been preparing extensively for. This has included partnerships with the sports space, but also with influencers, many of whom had an active presence on X.
Affiliate representatives on the SBC Affiliate Day outlined that influencers could play a crucial role in informing bettors about responsible gaming standards and tools, as well as integrity and sports safeguarding measures.
These are key regulatory requirements under Brazilian betting laws. In the case of the latter, the country recently appointed its first National Secretary of Sports Betting for the Economic Development of Sport, Giovanni Rocco Neto.
