Uruguay Football Association Seeks Solution to Betting Advertising Fines Ahead of Libertadores Final

The Uruguayan Football Association (AUF) has appealed to the government to find a way to be spared from financial penalties that are tied to betting advertising during the Copa Libertadores final set to take place at Estadio Centenario in Montevideo on November 28th.

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Local news reports say AUF President Ignacio Alonso and CONMEBOL President Alejandro Domínguez met with Uruguayan President Yamandú Orsi to discuss the matter. The worry is that betting ads are being played during international matches, especially when the teams are from countries that have more liberal betting advertising laws.

Uruguay’s regulations for online gambling are very restrictive, and they forbid the promotion or advertising of online gambling companies that are not licensed in the country.

Betting Advertising Has Created Financial Penalties

Uruguay’s Ministry of Economy currently has regulations that prohibit the display of betting advertising, which is not authorized by CONMEBOL, in the country. This can be stadium advertising and branding on foreign footballers’ shirts at international contests.

The economic implications can reverberate through Uruguayan soccer. The report states that the amount of these penalties is handed over to CONMEBOL, which will pass on the cost to the Uruguayan clubs that are hosting the games. This has caused an economic burden to home football institutions.

The problem is especially significant for the Libertadores final, as it will be followed by audiences all over the world and be broadcast in an international language.

Orsi Rules Out Fundamental Legal Change

Following the meeting, President Orsi recognized the challenge but stated that the government was not thinking of making a substantive change in the Uruguayan gambling law. Rather, a feasible solution is sought that may be applicable in the context of international sporting events.

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“We did not analyze legally changing that; that was not the proposal,” Orsi said in comments reported by local broadcaster Telenoche.

The president, however, acknowledged the difficulties that arise when international teams come to Uruguay, and bet sponsorships are arranged that meet the regulations of their home markets, but not the Uruguayan regulations.

Government Seeks Practical Solution for International Events

There is a very particular and new case: Uruguayan football clubs will have to pay a fine when one of these betting companies is displayed on the TV broadcast, Orsi explained, noting that in the Libertadores or Sudamericana, practically every Brazilian team has one.

The president called the situation “a sword of Damocles” for the Uruguayan sports institutions. He also differentiated between advertising that possibly can be controlled in the stadium and branding from visiting teams.

“One thing is static advertising or the signal that appears on screen, which can be managed. But when a team comes, it is difficult, and it is a kind of absurdity that we have to resolve,” Orsi concluded.

The government will thus have to determine a way to allow for international sporting events without opening the door to unlicensed betting ads in Uruguay. The problem could also be a trial run of how the nation enforces its gambling ads regulation with regard to major international games, as the Copa Libertadores final approaches on November 28th.

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Source: SBC Noticias