Minas betting advertising ban faces Supreme Court challenge

Brazil’s National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL) is preparing to take Minas Gerais to the Supreme Court over the decree restricting betting advertising in public spaces and facilities owned by the state.

The measure bans advertising from fixed-odds betting companies in locations including the Mineirão stadium, highways and bus terminals. It also requires Loteria Mineira, the state lottery, to end its sports betting operation in Minas Gerais.

The ANJL argues that the decree goes beyond the powers of a state government because the fixed-odds betting market is regulated at federal level. The association said the measure could create legal uncertainty and result in different regulatory treatment for an industry subject to national rules.

The Brazilian Institute for Responsible Gaming (IBJR) also called for the debate over betting advertising to be handled at federal level: the organization noted that fixed-odds betting should be regulated in Brazil solely by the Federal Government and supervised by the Ministry of Finance.

“Any changes to advertising rules should therefore be discussed at federal level,” the IBJR said, arguing that this would protect legal certainty and regulatory predictability for companies that have invested in Brazil’s regulated betting market.

The dispute has similarities with a separate case in Rio Grande do Sul. In April, Governor Eduardo Leite approved a law imposing time restrictions and additional content requirements on sports betting advertising, giving operators four months to adapt.

The ANJL challenged that law through an ADI at the Supreme Court and Prosecutor General, Paulo Gonet, asked the court to suspend the Rio Grande do Sul legislation.

The ANJL said the Minas Gerais case raises the same central issue as the dispute in Rio Grande do Sul: whether states and municipalities can introduce their own restrictions on an activity regulated nationally.