Betting and gambling brands are tightening their grip on football sponsorship across Latin America, and Argentina is the latest clear snapshot. A new review of Liga Profesional de Fútbol sponsorships found that 10 of the 30 first-division clubs now carry a gambling operator (online or land-based) as their main shirt sponsor, roughly one-third (33%) of the league.
The analysis, published as the Torneo Apertura got underway, names several of the most visible deals: River Plate with Betano, Boca Juniors and Racing Club with Betsson, plus Club Atlético Independiente and Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata with SportsBet. The Rosario rivals Rosario Central and Newell's Old Boys appear under City Center Online, while public-sector gambling also shows up: Unión de Santa Fe is backed by Lotería de Santa Fe and Instituto Atlético Central Córdoba by Lotería de Córdoba; Atlético Tucumán is sponsored by Casino Parque.
Argentina’s one-in-three ratio contrasts with the Colombian extreme described by Coljuegos watchers: in Liga BetPlay, 19 of 20 teams have had betting sponsors, with BetPlay positioned as both a league naming partner and a major funding source—fueling persistent integrity concerns as wagering volumes rise.
Globally, the direction of travel is mixed: some leagues are trying to de-risk visibility (the Premier League has a voluntary plan to remove gambling firms from the front of matchday shirts from 2026–27), while other markets continue to ride sponsorship demand as a revenue lifeline. An imbatible lesson for clubs is that dependency builds quietly—and becomes hard to unwind once the sponsor category turns into the balance sheet.
