Supreme Court justice suspends court cases over the betting ban across Brazil

Justice Luiz Fux of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) granted a request from the Office of the Prosecutor-General (PGR) and suspended the progress of all lawsuits challenging the provisional measure (MP) that banned sports betting and online gaming in Brazil. As a result, these cases will remain on hold until the Supreme Court definitively rules on whether the government’s decision was constitutional. According to Fux, the measure seeks to ensure legal certainty by preventing conflicting court rulings on a matter of high “social risk.” “There is a risk of legal uncertainty due to the possibility of multiple decisions in divergent directions, compounded by the fact that this concerns the potential authorization of an activity recognized as harmful and of high social risk, namely the operation of fixed-odds betting,” Fux wrote in the decision. It is worth noting that this decision was issued as an injunction, meaning it will still be submitted for review by the Plenary, the body made up of all STF justices. On Friday (6), the PGR asked Fux to freeze the cases. According to Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet, some lower courts were granting requests to allow betting platforms to operate on the grounds that the MP is unconstitutional. However, since the Supreme Court has not yet debated the constitutionality of the measure, such findings by ordinary courts were, according to the PGR, resulting in an “asymmetric application of the rule to those it applies to.” Last week, an order by federal appellate judge Adriana Pileggi de Soveral of the TRF-3 (Federal Regional Court of the 3rd Region) allowed three platforms operated by CDA Gaming to resume operations. The decision was suspended days later by the court’s president, federal appellate judge Luís Antonio Johonsom di Salvo, at the request of the Office of the Attorney General (AGU). How the betting ban in Brazil came about The activity was suspended nationwide with the signing of the MP on September 25. After that decision, associations representing the licensed sector and other entities filed actions with the STF against the measure. The lawsuits argue that, by unexpectedly shutting down a previously authorized sector, the provisional measure violated the constitutional principles of legal certainty, free competition, and due process. In addition, they also argue that the text violates the administrative autonomy of the states. As a result, the cases were assigned to Justice Luiz Fux, who was already the rapporteur for similar cases involving gaming and the online betting law. The provisional measure must also be reviewed and approved by the National Congress within 120 days; otherwise, it will lapse. However, the Joint Committee has not yet been set up, nor has it appointed its rapporteur and chair. O post Supreme Court justice suspends court cases over the betting ban across Brazil apareceu primeiro em iGaming Brazil.