The Attorney General's Office (PGR) has submitted a statement to the Supreme Federal Court (STF), in a lawsuit filed by the Attorney General of the Union (AGU), in which it defends the granting of a preliminary injunction to prohibit the State Lottery of Rio de Janeiro (Loterj) from authorizing online sports betting houses on a national scale.
The PGR's statement, which reinforces the request made by the AGU, was presented this Friday (25/10) at the request of the action's rapporteur, Minister Edson Fachin.
The AGU filed an Original Civil Action (ACO 3696) to the STF with a request for a preliminary injunction so that the so-called bets accredited only by Loterj, and not by the Ministry of Finance, are prevented from operating nationally.
In the action, the AGU argues that the sector's legislation allows states to exploit the activity only in a limited way to the state territory and, moreover, it is a Union's attribution to explore the lottery service on a national scale, as well as the accreditation of companies to operate throughout the country.
According to the AGU, Loterj adopts a system in which bettors declare that the bets will be made in the state of Rio de Janeiro. However, there is no geolocation system that ensures that these bets are actually originating from the state. The system also does not block bets from other regions.
In the terms of the action, in practice, Loterj accredits companies to explore the service on a national scale, which entails harmful consequences for the federal pact and free competition. Moreover, acting on a national scale disobeys the rules of the Ministry of Finance and invades the Union's competence by exploring the lottery service throughout the national territory.
The action cites, as an example of violation of equality among federal entities and free competition, that the states of Paraná and Maranhão require the use of geolocation mechanisms for the exploitation of the lottery service.
What the PGR says
The PGR states in its statement to the Supreme that the relaxation of the territorial limitation "has the potential to generate the federal imbalance raised in the initial petition [by the AGU]", and that, as explained in a technical note from the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets of the Ministry of Finance, the criterion adopted by Loterj "functions as a perverse incentive to predatory competition among federal entities, analogous to a scenario of fiscal war", says part of the statement of the Attorney General's Office.
By agreeing with the AGU's request for the granting of a preliminary injunction, the PGR cites as justification the risk of Loterj's actions causing a negative impact on the relationship between the states of the federation. The analysis of the request for a preliminary injunction will be made by the rapporteur of the action, Minister Edson Fachin.
Source: GMB
