SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Betfair has launched ‘Esport Futuro‘ (Future Sports), its first Brazilian social initiative aimed at improving funding and community access to grassroots sports.
The commitment has been launched with Betfair pledging to donate over R$630,000 (€120,000) to five sports associations in Brazil in 2023.
Esport Futuro is formed in partnership with Global Giving, the international charity partner of Flutter Entertainment, and upholds the FTSE100 group’s pledge to “improve the lives of 10 million people by 2030 through the Positive Impact Plan”.
Stage 1 of Esport Futuro has seen Betfair name Fundação Gol de Letra, Instituto Oswaldo Ribeiro de Mendonça, ACER-Brasil, Rise-Up International, and the Jorginho Sports and Educational Center as the first beneficiaries of its program.
Sue Hammett, Flutter’s International Director of CSR, emphasized a commitment to supporting Brazilian communities and highlighted the importance of providing greater funding for grassroots sports and their engagement with local communities.
“For the coming year, we would like our Brazilian Betfair community to be involved in encouraging associations to apply for a scholarship and to play an important role in the selection process,” she explained.
“We want to ensure that projects that most need support can access grant funding. We support projects that improve health and well-being through grassroots sport. All projects that fall under these themes will be considered for future grants.”
Betfair continues to wait for Brazil’s government to settle on the final terms of a federal sports betting bill, which is currently under review by Finance Minister Fernando Haddad.
2022 saw the firm become the principal sponsor of Brasil Serie A team Palmeiras FC and the season sponsors of the Campeonato Carioca for the state of Rio de Janeiro.
During 2023, Betfair will conduct a selection process in the coming months to determine the next beneficiaries of the plan.
