Minister André Mendonça of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) ordered the Lottery of the State of Rio de Janeiro (Loterj) and the State of Rio de Janeiro to stop accepting fixed-odds sports bets made outside their territory. The deadline for taking action is five days, with the return of the requirement to use electronic geolocation mechanisms.
In the injunction, Mendonça suspended the effectiveness of a rule from Loterj’s public notice for accrediting companies to operate bets in the state. For the minister, the measure favours the interstate exploitation of this public service by Rio de Janeiro, to the detriment of the competence of the Union and other states.
Initially, the public notice required that interested companies have a geolocation system to ensure that real-time bets were made only in Rio de Janeiro, along with processes that blocked access outside the territorial limits of the state. However, the notice was amended, and these requirements were removed.
In Civil Action Originating (ACO) 3696, the Union argues that the norm invades its competence to offer and operate lotteries at the national level and encourages predatory competition among the entities of the federation.
In granting the injunction, the minister noted that the amendment to the notice requires only the bettor’s declaration to consider that the bets were made within the territory of the State of Rio de Janeiro. This rule, in his view, contradicts Federal Law 13.756/2018, which regulates these bets, and creates a kind of “legal fiction” regarding the state’s territorial limits. “The flexibility of territoriality criteria weakens oversight and control of lottery activities, with potential harm, among others, to the federal pact,” he stated.
The injunction will be submitted for review by the full court in the virtual session to be held between February 14 and 21, 2025.
Minister André Mendonça of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) ordered the Lottery of the State of Rio de Janeiro (Loterj) and the State of Rio de Janeiro to stop accepting fixed-odds sports bets made outside their territory. The deadline for taking action is five days, with the return of the requirement to use electronic geolocation…