The Federal Supreme Court (STF) confirmed its preliminary decision that prevents bookmakers accredited by the Rio de Janeiro State Lottery (Loterj) from operating outside the state’s limits.
Ministers Alexandre de Moraes, Flávio Dino, Gilmar Mendes, Dias Toffoli, Cármen Lúcia and Cristiano Zanin accompanied the rapporteur, André Mendonça, and approved the measure by a majority vote.
Context of the decision and territorial limitation
The STF made the decision amidst a context of disagreements over the validity of the licenses that Loterj issues for operations throughout the national territory. According to Minister André Mendonça, “Loterj does not have the competence to issue licenses for operation throughout the national territory”.
Mendonça’s decision, which was maintained by the majority of STF ministers, obliges betting houses licensed by Loterj to limit their operations to the state of Rio de Janeiro.
Loterj itself had recently published an ordinance establishing geolocation mechanisms to prevent bettors from other states from participating in bets.
Non-compliance with the STF decision
However, the Federal Attorney General’s Office (AGU), responsible for bringing the action to the STF, claimed that some bookmakers accredited by Loterj were not respecting the territorial limitation.
According to the AGU, monitoring carried out by the General Coordination of Betting Inspection, linked to the Ministry of Treasury, detected that several of these companies still allowed betting outside of Rio de Janeiro, disregarding the court order.
Consequences and next steps
Furthermore, the AGU requested the imposition of fines and the blocking of websites that disobey the STF’s decision.
The Supreme Court must continue to evaluate the case, but with the decision taken last Friday, bookmakers licensed by Loterj have until now to adapt to the limitation of their operations within the state of Rio de Janeiro, under penalty of facing additional sanctions.
In summary, the STF’s decision limits the operations of bookmakers accredited by Loterj to the state of Rio de Janeiro. Therefore, it forces them to adapt to the territorial limitation to avoid additional sanctions.
