AGU asks STF to declare Brazil betting laws unconstitutional as ban closes market

Brazil's Attorney General's Office has asked the Supreme Federal Court to declare the country's betting legalisation laws unconstitutional. The request, reported by iGB, reached the court on Friday, after Provisional Measure 1,394, issued by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on 25 September, began closing the licensed market.

The AGU's case against the 2018 and 2023 laws

The office wants Laws 13.756 of 2018 and 14.790 of 2023 declared incompatible with the Constitution. In its statement to the STF, it said the rules offer insufficient protection and set out no mechanisms against damage to public health, the family and the economic order.

The harms it listed include family debt, inadequate protection for children and adolescents, and effects on the formal economy. It also cited a 140% increase in care provided by the Unified Health System (SUS) to people with disorders caused by gambling addiction.

"The reasons set forth above demonstrate that the regulatory framework of Laws No. 13.756/2018 and No. 14.790/2023 was extensively flawed," the filing states. The AGU went on to describe what it called "an exploratory leniency that could not be reconciled with the adequate protection of fundamental rights of paramount importance, such as human dignity, public health and the minimum subsistence level".

Supreme Court minister Luiz Fux, the rapporteur on the matter, has asked the government for information about the provisional measure. On Friday he gave the AGU 72 hours to comment, a window the office had requested itself after the first lawsuit was filed. It used the interval to file a new suit that changed some points of its argument.

Site shutdowns and the refund timetable

Previously licensed operators must take their websites and apps offline from today, 6 October, SBC News reports. On 7 and 8 October they have to give banks the figures for the net amounts still held in bettors' accounts, so balances can be returned.

Bettors had until 5 October to withdraw their own money. Anyone who missed that date will wait for banks and payment providers, which are due to issue refunds between 9 and 14 October.

The government is reportedly redirecting visitors to gambling sites to brasilsembets.br, a placeholder page signalling that the site is illegal. ANJL and IBJR have appealed that to Fux, saying it could affect around 100 million visits a day. Their case rests on the duties operators still carry after prohibition, among them processing refunds and keeping systems and customer support running, work they say automatic redirection could obstruct.

Trade bodies take their case to the stadiums

Companies associated with the National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL) and the Brazilian Institute of Responsible Gaming (IBJR) gave up their pitch-side board space at top-flight matches on Friday and Saturday to display protest messages, iGB reported. Boards at São Paulo against Santos on Friday and Atlético-MG against Bragantino on Saturday read "To prohibit is not to protect" and "The ban doesn't end gambling".

"For ANJL and IBJR, maintaining a regulated environment with clear rules and legal certainty is fundamental so that clubs, companies and other agents in the sports chain can plan their long-term investments," said Plínio Lemos Jorge, president of ANJL.

Carlos Lima, president of IBJR, said the debate also involves "the predictability of a market structured based on authorisations granted by the state itself". Both bodies argue that changes must preserve the legal security companies, clubs and partners need to plan investments and meet commitments, according to iGB.

A manifesto signed by the two bodies and licensed operators argues the ban does not end betting but removes protection for bettors. The Ministry of Finance put the number of people active on licensed platforms at 31 million, most of them betting recreationally and responsibly. Since the measure took effect, Legitbet, ANJL's official monitoring platform, recorded 6,401 new illegal websites between 22 and 28 September and 811 links to them on channels it monitors. Before the ban, the illegal market accounted for 41% of the volume wagered in Brazil; the organisations now project that figure will reach 100%. The consultancy LCA estimates up to BRL73 billion ($14 billion) in revenue at risk between 2027 and 2030 if demand migrates to illegal operators.

ANJL and IBJR said they are willing to discuss deposit and time limits, stricter advertising rules, mental health care and tougher measures against illegal sites, which they argue cannot be demanded of operators working in the dark.

Ban lands in the middle of a presidential race

The case is playing out during an election campaign. Critics cited by SBC News pointed to the timing of the ban, accusing Lula of courting votes against his main rival, Flávio Bolsonaro. After the first round, the count stood at 45.16% for Lula and 47.03% for Bolsonaro. The second round is set for 25 October.