The Attorney General of the Republic, Paulo Gonet Branco, filed a direct action of unconstitutionality (ADI) with the Federal Supreme Court (STF) against the legislation that allowed the “exploitation and indiscriminate dissemination of virtual betting systems based on sporting events” – popularly known as sports bets or bets that operate through gaming events online.
“In addition to federal laws, the action calls for the unconstitutionality of the set of ordinances issued by the Ministry of Finance that regulate the type of fixed-odd betting. This modality consists of a betting system around real or virtual events in which it is defined, at the time of placing the bet, how much the bettor will be able to win in the event of a hit”, explains the PGR.
In the action presented to the STF, Gonet argues that the betting legislation “infringes social rights to health and food, consumer rights, property rights, children and adolescents, the elderly and people with disabilities”, and that, in addition , comes into “line of conflict with the principles of the economic order and the internal market and with the State’s duty to protect the family unit”.
According to the prosecutor, these laws do not follow the constitutional restrictions provided for advertising products that put people’s health at risk.
Law No. 13,756/2018 established this type of betting, while at the same time indicating where part of the resources should be allocated. However, according to the PGR, it does not regulate virtual betting.
“This new market emerged without criteria to protect users of the service and the national market, a circumstance aggravated by the fact that websites and operators are often based in other countries, that is, Brazilian legislation does not apply, making control and supervision, as well as taxation of the activity”, details the prosecutor’s office.
Law No. 14,790/2023 was established with the aim of mitigating the negative social impacts of this new market. Gonet, however, assesses that this has not been done sufficiently. In this sense, he requested an injunction to suspend some rules that would, as a consequence, ban betting.
