The presidents of Loterj (Rio de Janeiro State Lottery) and Lottopar (Paraná State Lotteries), Hazenclever Cançado and Daniel Romanowski, sent letters to Google. They pressure the company to change its online betting advertising policy.
Currently, Google only accepts ads from betting brands authorized by the Ministry of Treasury. This policy was announced in October and came into effect on January 1, 2025.
Cançado and Romanowski disagree with this policy, so they demand that Google accept ads from betting companies authorized by their institutions. The letters were sent in December 2024, with Lottopar acting on the 16th and Loterj on the 20th.
Hazenclever suggested a new wording for Google’s policy in his letter, while the president of the Paraná Lottery threatened to sue the company if they do not accept advertisements from its accredited companies.
Loterj and Lottopar can only grant authorizations in their states. Both are public companies, linked directly to local governments, and their presidents are chosen by the governor.
Google told the Poder360 portal that it does not make regional distinctions for this type of advertisement. The company applies a policy similar to that adopted in other countries in Brazil, accepting only federal licenses for betting advertisements.
“Google supports responsible gambling advertising and adheres to local laws and industry standards. To comply with Brazilian legislation, we updated our gambling-related advertising policy in October”, says the official note.
“As expected, from January 1st, only advertisers certified by the Ministry of Treasury and with the necessary Google Ads certification will be able to operate on our platforms.”
Ministry of Treasury and federal licenses
On December 31, 2024, the Ministry of Treasury authorized 14 betting companies to definitively operate in the new regulated betting market in Brazil. The Prizes and Betting Secretariat, linked to the Ministry, analyzed 103 requests.
Another 54 bookmakers received temporary authorization, with the condition of regularizing pending documents within a specified period.
The regulatory process could raise R$2.1 billion in grants, with each company contributing R$30 million.
Some companies reported difficulties in obtaining certification due to the limited number of six certifiers authorized by the Secretariat. To meet demand, the Treasury extended the deadline for delivering the necessary documentation. Therefore, operating nationally without a grant from the Union is illegal in 2025.
In addition to going to court, companies can request state licenses, which vary between R$2 million and R$5 million, as an alternative to operating locally. Authorizations from the Ministry of Treasury cost R$30 million.
STF decision on Loterj
The STF minister, André Mendonça, determined on January 2, 2025 that bookmakers linked to Loterj should not operate outside of Rio de Janeiro.
The decision is provisional and must still go through a plenary referendum. Minister André Mendonça forced the use of electronic geolocation mechanisms to prevent the exploitation of lottery activities beyond the defined limits.
Therefore, it prohibits Loterj and the State of Rio de Janeiro from carrying out new acts that allow the provision of services outside the state territory.
The decision came in response to a request from the Attorney General’s Office (AGU) to prohibit bookmakers authorized by Loterj from operating nationally. According to the federal government, this national action disobeys Ministry of Treasury rules and invades the Union’s competence.
“Obviously, this is a mechanism for the State to exceed the limits of its territorial competence. By doing so, the State of Rio de Janeiro (i) invades the competence of other States (and the Federal District) and, mainly, (ii) violates the competence of the Union”, stated the minister in the decision.
