The minister of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), Flávio Dino, requested prominence last Friday (5), and removed from the virtual plenary the action that discusses the validity of municipal laws that authorize the creation of lotteries and sports betting, taking the issue to an in-person judgment. The measure temporarily suspends the progress of the process, which was being voted on in the Court’s electronic environment.
The action was proposed after the minister Kassio Nunes Marques grant an injunction ordering the immediate suspension of all municipal rules that allowed the operation of lotteries and fixed-odd betting. Nunes Marques’ decision also imposed a daily fine of R$500,000 on city halls or companies that maintained this type of operation, on the grounds that only the Union has the power to regulate and authorize lottery activities.
With Dino’s request for prominence, the case will no longer be decided virtually — where ministers vote remotely and without debate — and will now be analyzed in the physical plenary, in a session broadcast live. The change indicates that the minister wants a broader debate on the topic, which involves federal issues and the economic impact of local lotteries.
Until the trial is resumed, Nunes Marques’ injunction continues to be valid, which prevents municipalities from holding lotteries or signing contracts with companies in the sector. The decision affects dozens of city halls that had created laws to explore betting as a way of raising their own resources.
The date for the in-person trial has not yet been set, but the expectation is that the topic will generate intense debate among ministers, especially about municipal autonomy and the limits of the Union’s role in regulating betting.
Fonte: Gaming365 – Brasil
