Flamengo terminate Pixbet white labelled betting deal for Flabet

  Brazilian club Flamengo have terminated their contract with controversial shirt sponsor Flabet, a white labelled betting site trading on the club name and run by Pixbet. 

The parties had a contract running through December, but the Rio club chose to terminate it early though the Flabet brand will continue operating for another two months.

Pixbet, one of Flamengo’s main sponsors, retains a 60-day grace period to continue running the platform, after which the club is free to offer it to other operators.

Flamengo originally launched Flabet last August in partnership with Pixbet, one of Brazil’s largest betting companies, in a deal considered among the most lucrative in the Brazilian market.

Flabet had a controversial reputation as the platform blurred the lines between the operations of a football club and those of a betting operator.

Ordinance No 827 – a federal regulation governing betting operators – stipulates that only limited liability companies or corporations are eligible for licences and controlling shareholders or partners of operators are not allowed to hold a direct or indirect interest in a professional sports organisation. Flamengo is run as an association.

Flabet also offered odds on who would become the next Pope after the passing of Pope Francis, a violation of article 3 of law 14790/23 which stipulates that offerings must be limited to fixed-odd events or online games. Authorities also suspended the platform over technical requirements.

It’s understood that Flamengo is already negotiating with Betano to become the club’s new betting sponsor and to move away from a white labelled club solution. On Monday, the club said it will reveal a new sponsorship deal.