The licensed Brazilian betting industry has taken its dispute with the state of Rio Grande do Sul to the country’s highest court.
The National Association of Games and Lotteries, (ANJL), filed a direct action of unconstitutionality at the Federal Supreme Court (STF) in Brasília on 18 May, asking justices to strike down Law 16,508/2026, the advertising-restriction statute sanctioned by Governor Eduardo Leite on 24 April and published in the state’s official gazette three days later.
The challenged law, originally filed as a bill by state deputy Tiago Simon, bans betting advertising on television, radio and streaming platforms between 6am and 9pm; requires that mandatory addiction warnings occupy at least 15 per cent of every betting advertisement; prohibits any content that targets or features minors; outlaws mentions of odds or bonuses in live sport broadcasts; and bans betting advertising near schools. Enforcement falls to PROCON-RS, the state consumer-protection body, and operators have 120 days from publication to come into compliance.
ANJL’s petition, distributed to Justice Cármen Lúcia, argues that the state has trespassed on the federal Union’s exclusive competence over lotteries, advertising, telecommunications and civil liability, as set out in Article 22 of the Federal Constitution. “If the legislative competence over consortium and lottery systems is exclusive to the Union, then only the National Congress may issue primary rules on the matter,” the association said in its filing.
Crucially, the federal regulator agrees. The Secretariat of Prizes and Betting of the Ministry of Finance (SPA-MF), which oversees the country’s fixed-odds betting market, has separately flagged the unconstitutionality of the Rio Grande do Sul statute and indicated that the Office of the Attorney-General of the Union (AGU) could intervene in support of striking it down.
Rio Grande do Sul was the first state to legislate substantively on betting advertising following the federal Marco Legal das Apostas Esportivas of 2023, and several other state assemblies have indicated they may follow Leite’s lead if the law survives.
A ruling for the state would open the door to a patchwork of sub-national advertising regimes that operators argue would be impossible to comply with; a ruling for ANJL would consolidate federal control over a sector that, on the federal government’s own figures, has generated billions of reais in revenue since regulated launch and become one of the most politically contentious industries in the country.
No date has yet been set for the case to reach the plenary.
The post Brazilian operators ask Supreme Court to strike down Rio Grande do Sul betting-ad law appeared first on G3 Newswire.
The licensed Brazilian betting industry has taken its dispute with the state of Rio Grande do Sul to the country’s highest court. The National Association of Games and Lotteries, (ANJL), filed a direct action of unconstitutionality at the Federal Supreme Court (STF) in Brasília on 18 May, asking justices to strike down Law 16,508/2026, the…
The post Brazilian operators ask Supreme Court to strike down Rio Grande do Sul betting-ad law appeared first on G3 Newswire.