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The Uruguayan Football Association (AUF) has asked the government of President Yamandú Orsi not to fine the South American Football Confederation (Conmebol) for allowing sports betting advertising during the Copa Libertadores final, scheduled for 28 November 2026 at Montevideo’s Estadio Centenário.
According to Uruguayan outlet Búsqueda, AUF president Ignacio Alonso made the request directly to President Orsi during a meeting that also included Conmebol president Alejandro Domínguez. The discussion focused on how to handle betting sponsorship visible during international matches hosted in Uruguay, particularly when visiting teams from countries with more permissive advertising rules display betting brands on shirts and stadium hoardings.
Unlike Brazil, Uruguay does not have a private online betting market. The only nationally authorised platform is Supermatch, which operates under state supervision through the Dirección Nacional de Loterías y Quinielas, part of the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Current regulations prohibit the promotion or advertising of unlicensed betting operators, including via media, public events and sporting venues.
In practice, this has led to fines being issued to Conmebol – and passed on to Uruguayan clubs acting as hosts – when betting logos appear on television broadcasts during international fixtures at home grounds. President Orsi acknowledged the difficulty, telling local media it was “an absurdity” that Uruguayan clubs should be penalised when playing foreign teams that carry betting sponsors, especially in tournaments such as the Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana where “practically all Brazilian teams have betting sponsorship”.
“Static advertising or the on-screen signal can be managed. But when a team comes, it becomes difficult, and it is a kind of absurdity that we have to resolve,” Orsi said, according to reports. He added that the government was not considering changing the underlying gambling law. “We did not analyse legally changing that; that was not the proposal,” he stated, indicating that authorities are instead looking for a feasible solution applicable to international sporting events.
For its part, Conmebol already uses geo-targeted advertising in television feeds, showing different sponsors according to the country of broadcast. The AUF and Conmebol are now working with the executive to find a mechanism that avoids economic sanctions for the November final while maintaining Uruguay’s restrictive stance on betting promotion.
The issue has gained urgency in the run-up to the Libertadores decider, which will be the first final held in Uruguay since 2018 and a key test event ahead of the 2030 FIFA World Cup, for which the Centenário is also a planned venue.
