Brazil's Attorney General's Office (AGU) has filed a motion with the Supreme Federal Court (STF) asking it to declare unconstitutional the laws that legalised betting in the country. The challenge targets Law 13.756 from 2018 and Law 14.790 from 2023. AGU argues the legislation lacks adequate safeguards and fails to address harm to public health, families and economic order.
The filing lists several effects: rising household debt, no protection for minors, damage to the formal economy. AGU cited a 140% increase in admissions to the SUS public health system for gambling-related disorders. The office said the regulatory framework shows 'exploitative leniency' incompatible with basic rights — human dignity, health and subsistence income.
STF Justice Luiz Fux, the case rapporteur, has requested information from the government on the temporary betting ban introduced by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on 25 September. On Friday Fux gave AGU 72 hours to comment. That period was requested by AGU after filing its first motion; it has since filed a revised motion and been granted three more days.
For operators the situation is critical. Brazil is the largest Latin American market. If the court sides with AGU, legalisation could collapse retroactively.
