Minister Nunes Marques, from Federal Supreme Court (STF), determined this Wednesday (3) the suspension of all municipal laws and decrees that create, authorize or regulate lotteries and sports betting at the local level. The decision also orders the immediate suspension of activities already in operation and the accreditation processes linked to these services.
The injunction was granted in the Claim of Non-Compliance with Fundamental Precepts (ADPF) 1212, presented by the Solidariedade party, which argues that there is a proliferation of municipal lotteries in disagreement with the Constitution. According to the party, these initiatives violate the Union’s exclusive competence to legislate on consortiums and sweepstakes.
In the decision, Nunes Marques highlighted that Federal Law 13,756/2018, which regulates fixed-odd sports betting (so-called bets), concentrated the structure for monitoring the activity in the Union. The minister stated that only states and the Federal District were authorized to explore lotteries, within the limits of federal legislation — municipalities were not included.
For the rapporteur, allowing each city to create its own legislation on the subject generates a “diffuse and dispersed system”, which depletes the federal government’s oversight capacity and compromises the uniformity of consumer protection and public health rules.
The injunction imposes a daily fine of R$500,000 on municipalities and companies that fail to comply with the order and R$50,000 on mayors and directors of accredited companies that keep their activities suspended.
The minister also asked the Presidency of the STF to convene an extraordinary session of the Virtual Plenary so that the injunction can be endorsed by the other ministers.
Fonte: Gaming365 – Brasil
