July 30 – Brazilian Serie A side Corinthians have secured a new front-of-shirt partnership with betting site Esportes da Sorte until 2027, as they join forces with yet another gambling firm in the wake of VaideBet’s early exit last month.
VaideBet terminated its sponsorship agreement with Corinthians in June after the club became the subject of a police investigation into alleged corruption.
Reports at the time indicated that a portion of the VaideBet sponsorship fee was transferred to a shell company through the intermediary Rede Social Media Design, which played a role in facilitating the deal.
The new agreement with Esportes da Sorte is reported to be worth R$309 million ($54.7 million) over the three-year term, which is 16% less than VaideBet’s record R$370 million deal signed just seven months earlier.
Esportes da Sorte will take the front of shirt position for Corinthians’ men’s and women’s football, futsal and basketball teams.
The betting firm’s agreement with Corinthians reportedly involves an initial R$56.5 million fee, which will increase to R$66.5 million and R$90 million over the subsequent two years.
Additionally, the deal includes an extra R$57 million allocated to Corinthians’ transfer budget, R$9 million for marketing, and another R$30 million dedicated to a campaign aimed at registering 1 million new users on its betting platform over the sponsorship term.
The sponsorship was announced during the team’s Serie A match against Gremio on Thursday.
The bizarre announcement saw the team wear a ‘special message’ in the shirt sponsor slot during the first half, before Esportes da Sorte was broadcast on big screens and fireworks set off to unveil the deal. For the second half, the Corinthians players returned with updated kits, this time donning the Esportes da Sorte’s logo on their jerseys for the first time.
Darwin Henrique da Silva Filho, chief executive of Grupo Esportes da Sorte, said: “The way we chose to announce our partnership shows how much we want to be close to the fans, with actions, experiences and everything that values the greatness of this club.”
Augusto Melo, Corinthians president, added: “There were intense days of negotiations to ensure that the best was done for the club and our new partner. We know how important it is to be together for these three years and we will work hard to make this the beginning of a long journey.”
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at moc.l1726922561labto1726922561ofdlr1726922561owedi1726922561sni@g1726922561niwe.1726922561yrrah1726922561