VERSUSbet, the sports betting and online gaming brand of Grupo Orenes, has signed a new five-year agreement with Real Madrid for Latin America.
The agreement expands the cooperation that VERSUSbet and Real Madrid had maintained since 2024 in various European markets.
The alliance will allow VERSUSbet to associate its brand with that of the Madrid club in several Latin American markets. Likewise, the Grupo Orenes platform will become the first betting operator to partner with Real Madrid in Brazil.
The partnership is part of Orenes’ expansion strategy in Latin America. In 2025, the operator acquired a 51 percent stake in the Colombian betting brand Zamba.co, owned by Grupo Vicca. The Murcia-based company, which recorded revenue of €1.182 billion in 2025, also has an online presence in Mexico and Brazil.
According to Pedro García Cuestas, secretary general and director of Institutional Relations at Grupo Orenes, the new agreement with Real Madrid in Latin America represents “a strategic step of enormous importance” for the company. The collaboration means “a new leap forward in our international expansion strategy alongside the most influential and admired sports entity in the world,” he stated.
The announcement comes amid growing expansion of the gambling sector in Brazil, following the entry into force of the regulated online sports betting market in January 2025. Figures from the Ministry of Finance indicate that more than 25 million people placed online bets during 2025, and the Government collected 9 billion reais (€1.5 billion) from the activity.
The sector under scrutiny
The Brazilian Government announced yesterday (July 9) that it will impose strict advertising rules on online betting companies starting next week. The Minister of Finance, Dario Durigan, said that all advertisements must include warnings about the risks of addiction and potential financial losses.
Likewise, it will be prohibited to present online betting as an easy way to make money, and expert commentators will not be allowed to encourage viewers to place bets.
The Government will not only focus on betting operators, but also on third parties in the advertising chain that promote messages encouraging gambling.
The new rules will take effect on July 17. They follow President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s announcement regarding the freezing of funds of illegal betting operators.