Brazil betting industry files Supreme Court challenge to Lula ban

Brazil’s betting industry has formally challenged the government’s ban on fixed-odds betting, with the National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL) filing a direct action of unconstitutionality before the Supreme Federal Court (STF).

ANJL filed ADI 8,027 on 28 September, challenging Provisional Measure No. 1,394, which prohibits the operation, offer, intermediation and advertising of fixed-odds sports betting and online games in Brazil.

The association is seeking an interim suspension of the measure and recognition of the constitutionality of the laws underpinning the country’s regulated betting market.

The action forms part of a coordinated industry response following President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s issuance of the measure on 25 September.

In a separate joint submission in ADIs 7,721, 7,723 and 7,749, ANJL and the Brazilian Institute of Responsible Gaming (IBJR) asked Justice Luiz Fux to suspend the MP until Congress completes its consideration or the STF rules on the challenges.

The associations argue that the government failed to demonstrate the constitutional urgency required for a provisional measure and that the abrupt prohibition undermines legal certainty for operators holding five-year federal authorisations, issued following payment of R$30m per authorisation. They also contend that closing the regulated market could drive bettors towards unlicensed operators.

ANJL is seeking the full suspension of the MP until Congress completes its consideration or the STF rules on the case.

Alternatively, ANJL and IBJR have asked the court to exclude operators holding valid federal authorisations from the measure or provide at least six months for an orderly wind-down.

The challenge adds a formal judicial track to the industry’s efforts to oppose the prohibition, alongside its engagement with Congress. Unless the STF intervenes, licensed operators must make their betting sites and applications unavailable from 6 October, failing which the platforms may be blocked under the MP’s enforcement provisions.