Online Casino Blaze To Sponsor Brazilian Soccer Team Botafogo

Posted on: July 13, 2022, 07:36h. 

Last updated on: July 13, 2022, 09:42h.

Erik Gibbs Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Gaming Business, Global Gaming.

Brazil hasn’t yet fully embraced the concept of online gambling. However, this isn’t stopping progress. Soccer club Botafogo just signed online casino Blaze as a sponsor, even as public support for legalized gambling grows.

Caio Alexandre
Caio Alexandre of Botafogo before his trade to the Vancouver Whitecaps of MLS. His former team has tapped online gambling platform Blaze to be its latest shirt sponsor. (Image: MLS)

The Botafogo club announced that Blaze is the team’s new title sponsor. However, the arrangement only runs until the end of the 2022-23 season. Both the men’s and women’s sides are already wearing the logo on their shirts.

Blaze was the 54th most-visited website in Brazil in May, and the first among online casinos, according to website tracker SimilarWeb. There were 24.1 million total visits that month, an increase of 18% over April.

Blaze Blazes its Own Path

Blaze launched in 2019 in an effort to increase the relationship between entertainment and online gambling. After three years in the market, it now has more than 2,000 games and 12 million registered players.

Blaze hopes to define a new category in the gaming space, taking elements of casual and social gaming and turning them into a betting product. The content and platform are designed to “disrupt” the status quo of online gambling by introducing elements other solutions don’t offer.

In announcing the sponsorship, Botafogo majority shareholder and former FuboTV executive chairman John Textor, called Blaze the “ideal partner” to boost its business. He referred to the platform as the “chosen one.”

https://twitter.com/JohnTextor/status/1545761261614518272

Thairo Arruda, Botafogo’s director, took a tongue-in-cheek approach to the partnership. He said the club will be able to “set fire” to the soccer field with Blaze. Arruda added that the online gambling platform is also a sponsor one of the biggest influencers in Brazil, Felipe Neto, who is also a of a huge Botafogo fan.

Gambling-Related Sponsorships on the Rise

While other countries, such as the Netherlands, are reducing the connection between sports and gambling, Brazil isn’t going the same route. The Botafogo sponsorship announcement is the second of the week, following an arrangement between bookmaker BetCapital and soccer club Figueirense.

This month, BetCapital closed a deal with the soccer club. As a result, the brand will appear on the upper back of the team’s jersey until the end of the 2023 Catarinense Championship.

In addition, BetCapital will also appear in print and digital ads at Orlando Scarpelli Stadium and at the Cambirela Training and Training Center. It will also have a presence on the team’s social media channels and website. In addition, Blaze will appear on its official Rádio TV Figueira.

Currently, Figueirense competes in the Serie C of the Brasileirão, Brazil’s primary soccer competition. With 13 of the 19 days of the first stage carried out, the team is in ninth place in the ranking. However, it hopes to enter the G8, a group that ensures qualification for the second phase of the national contest.

Recently, BetCapital also became a sponsor of Paraná Clube. Through the agreement, which runs until the end of next year, the brand appears on the sleeve of the uniform.

Bolsonaro In No Hurry to Tackle Gambling

December 12, 2022 is the deadline for President Jair Bolsonaro’s government to finalize the legalization of sports betting in Brazil. Then-President Michel Temer established this deadline through the enactment of a law in December 2018. The regulation obliges the Ministry of Finance to promote the regulation of fixed-fee lotteries within four years.

The Federal Government estimates that more than 500 bookmakers are operating in Brazil. In addition, these groups are already making considerable investments in sports, especially soccer.

However, Bolsonaro is in no hurry to meet the deadline. Instead, with elections coming, he’s hoping to garner more support by walking the political fence until after voters head to the polls.