The ADPF 1212, filed by the Solidariedade party, questions the authority of municipalities to create and operate their own lotteries. The Federal Supreme Court (STF) ended the federal government’s monopoly over lottery operations, granting states and the Federal District autonomy to establish their own lottery services, provided they operate under modalities regulated by the Union. However, the STF’s ruling does not mention municipalities.
Attorney General Paulo Gonet’s opinion emphasizes that the constitutional issue requires a broad federative solution, justifying the STF’s review. “The relaxation of territoriality criteria weakens oversight and control of lottery activities, potentially harming, among other things, the federal pact,” stated the Attorney General in his opinion.
In his statement, Gonet affirms that “the operation of lottery services—particularly fixed-odds betting (bets)—does not constitute a public service of local interest, as it is not directly related to any immediate need of municipalities. The predominantly national and regional nature of lottery services, in fact, excludes the possibility for municipalities to establish their own lotteries.”
He further argues that “the proliferation of lotteries and online betting markets, without proper centralization and oversight, has the potential to trigger a tax war among municipalities, through the creation of incentives and/or the loosening of regulatory requirements to attract new betting companies.”
The Attorney General continues: “Such widespread operation poses risks to the federal pact, due to the overlap of municipal activities within the territories of their respective states.”
The Solidariedade party’s action is under the rapporteurship of Justice Nunes Marques, who has not yet granted the request to suspend municipal lotteries. He acknowledged the relevance of the issue and is awaiting the responses of the relevant authorities “with a view to a final judgment of the controversy, without prejudice to considering the preliminary injunction request at any time, given the risk and urgency stated in the initial filing,” noted Nunes Marques.
Accordingly, he ordered that information be gathered from the Office of the Attorney General (Advocacia-Geral da União – AGU) and the Office of the Prosecutor General (Procuradoria-Geral da República – PGR) before ruling on ADPF 1212.
The AGU had already expressed support for the petition, and now the PGR has taken the same position, arguing that the proliferation of municipal lotteries “weakens the oversight and control of the activity, potentially harming, among other things, the federal pact.”
With the PGR’s opinion submitted on Friday (10), the case has returned to the hands of Justice Nunes Marques.
Since December 2023, when fixed-odds betting was regulated, nearly 80 Brazilian municipalities have approved laws to create their own lotteries. However, the federal government considers this practice irregular. Law 14.790/2023, which regulates fixed-odds betting, establishes that only the Union, states, and the Federal District may operate such services.
Source: GMB
