The Brazilian Institute of Responsible Gaming (IBJR) expresses its concern with the monocratic decision of the TRF – 1st Region, in relation to the decision, which authorizes ANATEL to verify the operational legitimacy of fixed-odd betting lottery companies in the State of Rio de Janeiro.
Furthermore, it disregards the statement from the Union and the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets of the Ministry of Finance (SPA/MF). According to the entity, the action raises a series of concerns regarding legality and regulatory impact on the gaming sector in Brazil.
Official IBJR statement
“The Brazilian Institute of Responsible Gaming (IBJR) expresses its concern with the monocratic decision of the TRF – 1st Region, which partly granted a request made by the Rio de Janeiro State Lottery (LOTERJ) authorizing ANATEL to verify the operational legitimacy of companies of fixed-odd betting lottery exclusively within the territory of the State of Rio de Janeiro, without considering the manifestation of the Union and the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets of the Ministry of Finance (SPA/MF).
The Union, through SPA/MF, demonstrated the invalidity of State Decree No. 48,806/2023, for violating the national transition regime and the constitutional competence of the Union. The responsibility to authorize, regulate, monitor and sanction fixed-odd bets is from the Ministry of Finance, and it is unacceptable for a state standard to precede federal legislation.
Furthermore, the TRF’s decision was taken without a statement from ANATEL or the Union in the second instance, contributing to a mistaken understanding of the sector’s regulation and its impacts on the market. ANATEL, as a telecommunications regulatory agency, does not have the authority to verify the legitimacy of lottery operations.
The IBJR warns that LOTERJ’s position encourages legal uncertainty, harming the business environment in Brazil and threatening the effectiveness of the legal framework consolidated by Federal Law No. 14,790/2023 and the recent SPA/MF Ordinances, in which operators have up to the end of the year to obtain their licenses.
The decision handed down by the TRF – 1st Region is not definitive and must be appealed by ANATEL and the Union”.
Understand the case
Last Friday night (28), Loterj obtained a legal victory. This is because judge Pablo Zuniga Dourado, from the Federal Regional Court of the 1st Region, determined that Anatel must certify the legitimacy of bookmakers to operate within the state’s limits.
In other words, if bookmakers are in violation of state legislation, the body must suspend their activities. But the decision can still be appealed.
Furthermore, Zuniga’s new decision goes against a previous ruling by the Federal Court of Brasília, which had denied Loterj’s request to block or suspend 115 betting platforms in Rio de Janeiro.
