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Brazilian football club Flamengo's new betting platform was accidentally made public for 48 hours, where players were able to deposit money before it went offline.
Called Flabet, it has not yet been approved by Flamengo’s board of directors, but apparently the website is already ready to go.
The proposed platform would be a partnership between Flamengo and its main sponsor, PixBet, and would be the first of its kind.
Under Brazilian Gambling Law 14790, operators are allowed three skins per licence.
They are not, however, allowed to have any kind of stake in a Brazilian football club or sports team. At least one lawyer has claimed that Flabet is a violation of that article.
PixBet has confirmed that the “launch” was due to a technical error, and went offline on Thursday (August 1).
The club’s board of directors is expected to give its opinion this week, but the executives are under pressure to reject the plan.
“This measure challenges the authority of the Brazilian regulator and, if allowed, creates a clear conflict of interest that jeopardises the integrity of football in Brazil. This precedent goes against what is observed in other jurisdictions,” said Rafael Marchetti Marcondes of trade group IBJR, speaking to Vixio GamblingCompliance when the deal was announced.
The concept of sports teams acting as gambling licensees and operators is not entirely without international precedent.
U.S. team the Washington Commanders of the National Football League has a licence granted directly from the state and partners with Fanatics to offer gambling to sports fans.
However, it does so exclusively within its FedEx Field stadium and not via an online offering.
Brazil’s national legislation to permit sports betting and online casino licensing is close to becoming a reality, after key final ordinances were published.
Interested operators have until August 20 to apply to ensure their applications are considered before the market opens next year.
