The Rio de Janeiro State Lottery (Loterj) will continue to uphold in court the autonomy of the states, guaranteed in the Federal Constitution and endorsed by the STF, to grant a license to operate bets, as online bookmakers are known.
Loterj plans to appeal the decision of August 12th by the judge of the TRF of the First Region, Pablo Zuniga Dourado. He revised his previous decision, which had suspended bettors’ access to the websites of companies operating in Rio de Janeiro without due grant (authorization) from Loterj, in violation of State Decree 48,806/2023.
For the municipality, the TRF 1 judge’s decision, however, does not change the need for state authorization for betting companies to explore the market. Thus, as determined by the State Decree of Rio de Janeiro.
According to Loterj, it is unconstitutional to claim that the exploitation of lottery services can occur clandestinely, especially by companies based in tax havens, until the conclusion of federal regulation.
Furthermore, it is necessary to preserve the sovereignty of the states, guaranteeing their own regulations for the exploitation of the lottery market. In the case of Rio de Janeiro, this regulation already exists and must be strictly complied with.
The adequacy mentioned in the sole paragraph of article 9 of Law 14,790/2023 is not a license for illegitimate exploitation of the market by bets. The “adequacy” of the aforementioned article is for these companies to regularize themselves. For Loterj, this is not a license for them to continue exploring irregularly, outside of any supervision.
Also according to the Rio de Janeiro State Lottery, anyone who currently explores this activity, without the appropriate authorization, is in complete disobedience to the established legal framework.
Loterj Grant x Federal Grant
Loterj launched a notice in Rio de Janeiro and has already qualified some companies, with a grant of R$5 million. Therefore, this value is lower than the R$30 million set by the federal government.
After meeting the requirements and paying R$30 million to the Union, companies can explore up to three commercial brands for five years.
Analysis of the request takes up to 180 days, but brands that request in the first 90 days will receive a response in 2024, with the federal government planning to issue the first authorizations by the end of the second half of the year. Therefore, these rules will come into force in January 2025.
