The National Confederation of Commerce, Services and Tourism (CNC) filed a lawsuit at the Supreme Federal Court (STF) on Tuesday (24), challenging the law that regulates bets in Brazil. The entity ensures that the increase in the offer of online betting is aggravating family indebtedness. The case was assigned to Minister Luiz Fux.
Objective
The action seeks to declare the unconstitutionality of Law No. 14.790, sanctioned in December 2023, which was the result of efforts by the Lula government (PT) to regulate the sector. In 2022, the government had issued a provisional measure to legalize betting. The CNC also requests a precautionary measure to immediately suspend the effects of the law, interrupting the regulation process.
Indebtedness
The initiative by the CNC is part of the market's resistance against sports betting, with criticisms that this sector is diverting resources from other economic areas. According to the confederation, the increase in the offer of online betting is aggravating family indebtedness, compromising retail trade, and negatively impacting the economy and social development of the country.
Authorized
Online sports betting was authorized in Brazil in 2018, during the government of Michel Temer (MDB), but was not regulated until the government of Jair Bolsonaro (PL). In 2023, the Lula government intensified efforts to create a regulatory framework for the sector, resulting in the law challenged by the CNC, which updated the legislation from 2018.
Legalization Deadline
In response to the growing impact of betting, the government established a deadline for the market's legalization: only companies that registered by August 20, 2024, will be able to continue operating legally from October 1. Those that did not register will be considered illegal and may be taken down. This measure was formalized in a decree after pressures in Congress, including from members of the PT, who proposed initiatives against online betting.
Social Pandemic
The Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad, also spoke on the topic, highlighting that the regulation aims to tackle the problem of betting addiction, which he classified as a "social pandemic." The government banned the use of credit cards for betting, but the rule will only come into effect in January 2025, when the full regulation will be enforced.
Rigor
The acting president, Geraldo Alckmin (PSB), met on Tuesday with representatives from the Ministries of Health, Finance, and Justice to discuss additional measures to regulate the sector. The meeting occurred after a meeting between Alckmin and representatives of the retail trade, who requested stricter rules, including the immediate prohibition of the use of credit cards in betting.
Source: GMB
