Brazilian Supreme Federal Court Justice Flávio Dino suspended deliberations on the constitutionality of the country's gambling ban after requesting a review of the case materials. The discussion is postponed until early 2027 at the earliest.
Dino sided with rapporteur Justice Luiz Fux, who argues for maintaining criminalisation, but demanded that sports betting be brought into the agenda. Because that proved procedurally impossible within the current session, he exercised his right to request a review, effectively blocking a decision.
Fux cited research on betting platforms and claimed gambling addiction is linked to rising domestic violence, suicide and food insecurity. He argued that betting is accessible to minors and connected to criminal groups. The rapporteur used data on online platforms while mixing arguments against land-based venues.
Dino insists the ruling must clarify that lotteries, sports betting and other legalised forms are exceptions to the ban. He proposed consolidating all pending gambling cases at the STF to avoid conflicting rulings. The justice also called for strict advertising regulation and channelling revenues into the national health system.
Justice Dias Toffoli took the opposite view: a blanket ban would drive the market underground. He pointed to data from a financial body showing that 15 of the top 20 recipients of Pix transfers are illegal betting sites. 'If you ban everything, it goes illegal. And that's worse, because the state loses control,' he said.
