League sponsor to go?
The Chilean Ministry of Justice has placed its national pro soccer body Asociación Nacional de Fútbol Profesional (ANFP), under extreme pressure. The ministry gave the ANFP 30 days to cut ties with offshore sports betting companies including Sweden-based Betsson, which has naming rights for the Chilean First Division soccer league, Campeonato Betsson.
According to Golazo24, with two weeks left to the deadline, ANFP faces the choice of axing its multimillion-dollar sponsorship contract with Betsson or losing its legal right to operate, which the publication stated would “unleash a national crisis” in soccer. At a press conference, the Chilean Undersecretary of Justice, Jaime Gajardo, announced that axing offshore sports betting partnerships could also apply to Chile’s soccer teams, not just the ANFP.
offshore sports betting firms are operating “outside the law”
Gajardo referenced current legislation and arguments from the Chilean Gaming Board to deliver the government executive’s decision that offshore sports betting firms are operating “outside the law” and have “no legal basis” in the national constitution.
Chile law
In justifying giving the ANFP 30 days from September 1 to axe its sports betting partnerships, Gajardo said as a non-profit body, the ANFP was required to “carry out activities of public interest.”
The government executive added that under Chile’s laws, the betting contracts ANFP has with online offshore third party operators like Betsson are not legal. “Therefore,” he concluded, “there is nothing else to do than revoke them.”
According to Chilean media, over 30 soccer franchises have deals with offshore sports betting firms, such as Betano with Universidad de Chile, and LatamWin with O’Higgins. Outside of the ANFP, Betsson has deals with Chilean Primera División franchise Colo Colo.
Regional unrest
The offshore sports betting crackdown comes amid a wind of scandal blowing through South American soccer. On Tuesday, Bolivia’s soccer body canceled all tournaments following an audio leak of match fixing, while a similar scandal in Brazil has embroiled multiple soccer pros, federal police, and members of Congress.
In August, data consultant Starlizard Integrity Services flagged 79 soccer games worldwide for signs of match fixing during the first half of 2023. Eleven of the suspicious matches were found in the South American Football Confederation region.