The power to legislate on betting systems, consortiums and raffles lies with the Union, in accordance with the Federal Constitution. With this understanding, the Special Body of the Court of Justice of São Paulo granted a writ of mandamus and declared the unconstitutionality of São Paulo Municipal Law 18.147/2024. The law prohibits the use of animals in sports activities involving betting. The vote was unanimous.
The law, in force since last June, sanctioned by Mayor Ricardo Nunes (MDB), gave 180 days from the date of publication for establishments that took bets on animals (such as horse racing) to close their activities.
The Jockey Club of São Paulo, however, filed a writ of mandamus against the mayor and the president of the City Council of São Paulo. This action aimed to suspend the measures imposed by the law, in addition to declaring it null and void.
The São Paulo Court of Justice granted the injunction to remove the immediate requirements of the law and the case continued. Later, the Attorney General’s Office filed a direct action of unconstitutionality (ADI) regarding the same law and the cases were processed together. The São Paulo Public Prosecutor’s Office also gave a favorable opinion on the nullity of the law during the case.
It is up to the Union
The judges agreed with the arguments of the Jockey Club’s defense, that the city of São Paulo usurped its jurisdiction by legislating on betting. In his vote, rapporteur Damião Cogan cited that article 22 of the Federal Constitution states that it is the exclusive jurisdiction of the Union to legislate on activities involving raffles and lotteries, which includes horse racing.
According to the Supreme Federal Court, any state or district law or normative act that provides for consortium and lottery systems is unconstitutional. “In the same sense, there is a single-judge decision by the STF issued in Complaint 9,557, specifying that the expression ‘draws’ includes online gambling, lotteries and similar,” justified Cogan.
Since 2022, the City of São Paulo has been planning to expropriate the Jockey Club’s land to transform it into a park. One of the main reasons is a debt of around R$800 million that the club has accumulated in IPTU (Urban Property and Land Tax).