Minister André Mendonça of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) was selected to report on the Original Civil Action (ACO) 3696, which addresses a request from the Attorney General of the Union (AGU) to prohibit the State Lottery of Rio de Janeiro (Loterj) from authorizing online betting houses nationwide. The draw took place after Minister Edson Fachin declared himself suspect on Tuesday night (29/10).
There are two actions challenging the bets in Brazil. Minister Luiz Fux is the reporter of the Direct Action of Unconstitutionality (ADI) 7.721, proposed to the STF by the National Confederation of Commerce of Goods, Services, and Tourism (CNC), which requests the unconstitutionality of Law 14.790/2023, which regulates the bets.
On the upcoming 11th, a public hearing will take place to discuss the regulation of bets and other online gambling games in the country. Among the invitees are the presidents of the Chamber and the Senate, as well as the Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad.
ACO 3696
In ACO 3696, the AGU requests that the activities of bets in Rio de Janeiro cease immediately under the argument that the accreditation rules of the betting houses by Loterj are lax and do not restrict online bets only to the State, opening space for money laundering and financing of terrorist actions.
Loterj argues that a potential suspension of the bets from Rio violates the principle of legal security. The Lottery claims that the end of the authorizations could result in million-dollar compensations, in addition to significant loss of revenue.
In practice, the autarchy bypasses the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets of the Ministry of Finance, which adopted specific criteria for the operation of bets in Brazil, and authorizes 11 sites that did not have the consent of the federal government. They are: Vai de Bet; Ganhabet; Betvip; Caesars Sports; Rio Jogos; Apostou; Pix Hora; PixBet; MarjoSports; Loto Legal; and BestBet.
After being selected as reporter, Fachin asked to leave the case, a day after the National Association of State Gaming and Lottery Operators requested to follow the action as amicus curiae. “In terms of article 145, §1º, of the CPC, and article 277, of the RISTF, in view of the subsequent petitions, I declare my suspicion to act in the present case. To the Judicial Secretariat for the appropriate measures, in terms of art. 67, § 3º, of the RISTF”, wrote Fachin.
As published by the newspaper O Globo, the petition of the entity, which gathers online betting houses and sports lotteries, is signed by former Minister of Justice Eugênio Aragão and by lawyer Miguel Gualano de Godoy, who has previously advised Fachin.
According to the newspaper, Godoy worked in Fachin's office between 2015 and 2017 and is close to the minister, who even wrote an introduction for a book authored by him, titled “Returning the Constitution to the people - Critique of judicial supremacy and institutional dialogues”, released in 2017.
The request for the entity to enter as amicus curiae is still to be analyzed, but Fachin left the report before even this analysis. Although not a party to the process, the "friend of the court" can express themselves in the records, subsidize the action with information, and even speak at the trial.
Source: Jota
