The law, sanctioned last June by Mayor Ricardo Nunes, gave 180 days from the date of publication so that the establishments that were betting with animals (such as horses) to end their activities.
The Jockey Club of São Paulo, at the time, filed a writ of mandamus against the mayor and against the mayor of São Paulo to suspend the measures imposed by the law, and declare it null.
The TJ-SP granted the injunction to rule out the immediate demands of the standard and the process continued. Later, the Attorney General's Office filed a Direct Unconstitutionality Action (ADI) on the same law and the processes were jointly. The São Paulo Public Prosecution Service also gave a favorable opinion to the nullity of the law during the process.
Union competence
The judges agreed with the arguments of the Jockey Club defense that the municipality of São Paulo usurped its competence by legislating on bets. In his vote, the rapporteur Damião Cogan mentioned that Article 22 of the Federal Constitution provides that it is the Union's private competence to legislate on activities involving draws and lotteries, which includes the horse race.
In addition, the Binding Precedent 2 of the Federal Supreme Court says that the State or District Normative Law or District Act that provides for consortium and draw systems is unconstitutional. "In the same vein, there is a monocratic decision of the Supreme Court in Complaint 9.557, specifying that the expression" raffles "covers gambling, lotteries and the like," said Cogan.
Since 2022, São Paulo City Hall has been plans to expropriate the Jockey Club ground to turn it into a park. One of the main motivations is a debt of about R$ 800 million (US$141m) that the association accumulates on property tax.
Source: Conjur
