Esportes Gaming Brazil is the owner of the Esportes da Sorte brand, and despite being banned by federal regulatory agencies, it has been authorized to continue operations, becoming the controlling shareholder of ST Soft Desenvolvimento de Programa de Computadores Ltda, the owner of the Apostou.com platform licensed by Loterj.
It is noteworthy that Esportes da Sorte did not appear on the list of operators approved by the federal regulatory agency (SPA) last week, meaning they cannot operate in Brazil before the market launch date of January 1, and will be considered unlicensed operators until then.
However, the national regulatory agency Loterj states that Esportes Gaming Brazil has complied with its legal and technical requirements, thus meeting the authorization conditions to operate under a national license.
The domain names of Esportes Gaming Brazil's Esportes da Sorte and Onabet brands will replace ST Soft's rj.apostou.com, becoming one of the license holders of Rio de Janeiro's Loterj.
This brings the total number of Loterj-recognized brands to 12, with Esportes da Sorte and Onabet joining the ranks alongside Caesars Sportsbook, VaideBet, and Pixbet.
Esportes da Sorte not included in SPA's approved operator list
The initial list from SPA included 89 operators. According to UOL, Esportes Gaming Brazil has contacted SPA seeking rectification, believing it has met the requirements to continue operations during the transition period.
However, even after SPA published the final updated list, Esportes da Sorte was still not included.
Esportes da Sorte is one of three companies involved in the federal investigation into illegal gambling and money laundering called "Operation Consolidation," along with VaideBet and Zeroumbet. The owners of these three companies were arrested in September.
Notably, VaideBet and Zeroumbet were also excluded from the list of legal companies during the SPA transition period.
Can Esportes da Sorte operate nationwide with a Loterj license?
However, due to a ruling by the Federal District Court this week, which states that Loterj has no jurisdiction outside Rio de Janeiro, there remains uncertainty whether Esportes can operate nationwide with a Loterj license.
The court president, João Batista Moreira, has prohibited operators holding a Loterj license from conducting business outside the state.
Moreira's ruling was made after an appeal by the Attorney General's Office (AGU), aimed at restoring the federal government's ability to regulate the national gambling industry.
Loterj argues that its activities are protected by laws enacted before the SPA regulations. Article 35-A of Gambling Regulation Law No. 14,790 states that licensees must comply with the law, not decrees or prohibitions.
After SPA published the list of federally approved operators, Loterj reiterated its belief that its license holders will "continue to operate throughout Brazil."
