The states seek in the STF - Supreme Court-, the legal security to raise funds to finance Social Security through the state Lotteries.
An amicus curiae (literally, "friend of the court") is someone who is not a party to a case and is not solicited by a party, but who assists a court by offering information that bears on the case.
This Monday was filed in the Constitutional Court by CONPEG (National Association of Attorneys General of the States and the Federal District) from which are part 14 states and the Federal District, a request that is added to the already one of the state of Minas Gerais, to be admitted as amicus curiae in ADPF 493 of ABLE - Brazilian Association of State Lotteries.
The purpose of ABLE's action in STF is to declare that there is no monopoly of the Union to establish Lottery in Brazil, due to the failure to receive article 1 and 32 of Decree-Law 204/67 in the Federal Constitution of 1988.
As the author of the action, I believe that it is fundamental to clarify that LOTTERY is not GAMBLING, and it differs because its objective is not to obtain profit and is always exploited by the state itself. The Federal Union's model of exploitation of the Federal Lottery, through Caixa Econômica, serves as a paradigm for states.
In LOTTERY, there is never a bilaterality that typifies gambling, since there is always the figure of the state, who controls everything and collects it to finance social security (article 195-III), in addition to limiting its products those provided for in the Federal Law SV 02 / STF).
The difference between the Federal Lottery and the State Lottery resides in the legally binding competence of the Union and in the territory that each can exploit, and the states are limited to its territory (Article 2 § 1 of DL 6259/44 and article 56 of DL 3688/41 - both in force) and the Union may operate Lottery concurrently with the states, throughout Brazil.
If LOTTERY is a source of benefit to the Union, adopting the same criteria, it is also for the states.
Strictly speaking, the states and the Federal District can not waive this revenue and must adopt an efficient, responsible and modern way (CF / 88, article 37) for this purpose, as provided for in Law 8987/95 regarding concessions and (CF / 88, art. 175).
There is no monopoly of the Union to explore LOTTERY (CF / 88, art 177), and this is already understood and decided by the Ministers of the Federal Supreme Court Ayres Britto (ADI 2847), Cesar Peluso (ADI 2847) ), Marco Aurelio (ADI 2996), Luis Roberto Barroso (Opinion 2007) and Celso de Melo (injunction Rclm 5716).
Roberto Brasil Fernandes
