International sportsbook Betfair is maintaining its visibility in Brazil by renewing its partnership with Cruzeiro Esporte Clube.
The company, part of multinational, multi-brand gaming group Flutter Entertainment, has secured an extension to its deal with the Brasileiro Série A team until 2026.
Betfair first partnered with Cruzeiro in January 2023 in the midst of extensive hype and discussion around Brazil’s betting market. The market would not be launched that year, however, though it is now set for launch later this year.
According to SBC Noticias, a Latin America-focused betting industry news brand, Betfair Sponsorship Manager, Aidan Kilcoyne, told Brazilian media that the partnership has allowed the firm to ‘to promote and support the sport on a number of fronts in a significant turnaround in the club’s history, as well as bringing Cruzeiro fans closer to their favourite team’.
He added: “We are very proud of everything we have built with the club so far and excited about the future of this partnership and another chapter together.
“The deal will be formalised in the coming days and, although the figures are not yet known, it would be one of the largest sponsorship agreements in the country.
Following a change in government, the new – at the time – administration of Lula da Silva moved ahead with betting regulations.
After some back and forth the Bill was finally approved by legislators and signed by Silva, and efforts to create the regulatory framework for a nationwide Brazilian betting market have followed over the past few months.
Given Brazilians love for football, the country’s vast population and its growing economy, betting operators have been unsurprisingly eager to see the market launched. Said firms have also been gearing up their marketing efforts ahead of market launch.
Betfair is no stranger to this, as the Cruzeiro deal shows. Cruzeiro is not the club’s only bookmaker partner, however, with the firm having also struck deals with the likes of CR Vasco da Gama, another well-supported Serie A side.
