ANJL and IBJR appeal to Supreme Court to against Brazil betting ban

Brazil’s industry bodies fight against betting ban. National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL) and the Brazilian Institute for Responsible Gaming (IBJR) filed a lawsuit to suspend the Provisional Measure No. 1,394/2026, which has banned fixed-odds games in the country, signed by President Lula recently. The organizations filed a joint petition with Judge Luis Fuchs in three constitutional lawsuits (ADI 7,721, 7,723) challenging the country’s gambling system, requesting that the ordinance be suspended until Congress approves it or Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court (STF) rules on its constitutionality. The organizations are warning about unsettled legal and legislative issues, so the prohibition needs to be on hold for now. The authorities are asking for the complete lifting of the provisional measure so operators previously authorized can resume their activities. The operators are petitioning the court to let them operate while making use of the exemptions already obtained by the Ministry of Finance’s Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (SPA/MF). They are requesting for a minimum of six months instead of the planned 15 months for companies to wind down. Among the reasons submitted by ANJL and IBJR is that the government has failed to create special conditions justifying the application of provisional measures that have to possess characteristics of being urgent and relevant. ANJL and IBJR argue that the government did not carry out a sufficient analysis of what consequences a ban would have for tax revenues from gaming businesses and financing those areas that are funded by the federal government including sports, tourism, social security, and others. The associations argue that if licensed gaming websites are closed, all gamers will play at illegal websites where the user verification system, responsible gaming measures, anti-money laundering measures, taxation rules, and consumer protection systems differ. The lawsuit also relates to the earlier events in the history of the struggle for the fate of betting business in Brazil. The outcome will have an impact on whether operators can return to back to their business, or they will be given more time to wind down their operations.