The Federal Attorney General’s Office (AGU) appealed an injunction from the Federal Regional Court of the First Region (TRF1). The court’s decision argued that companies would need authorization from the Rio de Janeiro State Lottery (Loterj) to operate locally.
In the document, the AGU argues that the regulation of the online betting market is the responsibility of the Union.
Conditions in Rio de Janeiro
Last week, the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) accepted judge Pablo Zuniga Dourado’s injunction, which was published on June 29th.
Thus, Anatel asked telephone operators to block platforms present in the state. Currently, only five bookmakers are licensed by Loterj:
- Apostou RJ
- BestBet
- MajorSports
- Rio Jogos
- Pixbet
Blaze filed a license application in recent days. Other companies are already in the accreditation process with the Rio de Janeiro municipality.
In 2023, Loterj published an accreditation notice, establishing standards for online betting operating companies to operate in the state. Among the requirements are:
- Grant payment in the amount of R$5 million
- 5% per month of Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR), which is revenue minus prizes paid to players
This value is much lower than the conditions set out by the Ministry of Finance, which are:
- grant payment of R$30 million
- 12% per month of Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR)
AGU’s objection
Although other states are following the same path and creating internal rules for companies in the market, Rio is the only one to accredit platforms to operate in other parts of the country.
This allows companies to opt for local regulation and pay a lower grant, instead of requesting authorization from the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA), linked to the Ministry of Finance.
Therefore, according to the government’s plan, online betting operators can continue operating until December 31st. This is the maximum period for submitting the authorization request and demonstrating compliance with the requirements established by laws and ordinances.
The regulated market comes into effect on January 1, 2025. The regulations proposed by the Federal Government include tougher rules such as:
- Money laundering prevention mechanisms
- Control of time dedicated to the game
But AGU argues, when appealing the TRF1 decision, that it is the Federal Government’s responsibility to regulate the fixed-odd betting market. This modality includes cases in which the player knows how much he will receive when placing the bet. In other words, the value of the prize is calculated based on the probability of each scenario coming to fruition.
“Apparently the Lottery of the State of Rio de Janeiro – Loterj confuses the legislative competence of the Union on the subject with the material competence of the State of Rio de Janeiro to operate a related service”, says the document.