AGU urges Brazil’s Supreme Court to keep bets ban in place

The legal battle over Brazil’s betting ban is now before the Supreme Federal Court, with industry representatives and the Federal Government presenting sharply different arguments over the future of the sector.

The National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL) and Brazilian Institute of Responsible Gaming (IBJR) have asked Justice Luiz Fux to suspend the provisional measure.

However, the Attorney General’s Office (AGU), representing the Government, has asked Fux to reject those requests and maintain the ban.

On legal certainty, ANJL and IBJR argue that authorized operators invested heavily to comply with the regulatory framework, including paying BR30m ($5.7m) licensing fees and maintaining financial reserves and governance requirements. 

The AGU countered that authorizations did not guarantee that the legislation allowing betting would remain permanently in force and that regulations provided for authorisations to be ended in the public interest.

The industry also warned of lost tax revenue and questioned whether the Government had considered the economic impact of the prohibition. In the first eight months of 20206, Brazil collected BR9.91bn in federal taxes from businesses classified as gambling.

The risk of growth in the illegal market is another major point of disagreement. The betting associations argue that bettors could migrate to unauthorized platforms, while the AGU says such an increase is not inevitable. 

The associations also questioned the urgency behind the MP, noting that the government itself had previously introduced the legislation that established Brazil’s regulated betting framework in 2023. The AGU said the decision followed the Government’s experience with the regulated market and its effects on household budgets, debt and health, which will also be mentioned in the billion-number lawsuit against operators. 

Fux has been asked to hear from the Public Prosecutor’s Office within 72 hours before ruling on the requests. The MP must also still be considered by Congress to become permanent.