The Federal Supreme Court (STF) in Brazil has unanimously upheld Minister Luis Fux’s emergency measure to ban betting using social welfare and gambling ads that target minors.
Following the conclusion of a two-day hearing at the STF that aimed to explore the impacts of betting in Brazil this week, Supreme Court Minister Fux, on Wednesday (13 November), called for gambling using Bolsa Família social welfare cheques to be prohibited, as well as betting ads that target children.
Fux’s request for STF president Luis Roberto Barroso to call an extraordinary virtual session of the chamber of deputies’ plenary was granted but the hearing was pushed back following an explosion outside the STF on 13 November in which one man was killed. The plenary is the highest deliberative body in the chamber of deputies.
The court yesterday (14 November) voted to immediately adopt Fux’s measures, bringing them forward from the previously expected introduction on 1 January 2025. This is also the anticipated launch date for legal betting in Brazil.
Measures aim to ease fears over betting in Brazil
All 11 ministers who form the plenary voted to uphold Fux’s actions amid backlash against the gambling sector, with fears over betting’s impact on the financial and social health of Brazilians.
Back in September, the Central Bank of Brazil revealed 20% of funds from its Bolsa Família programme were spent on online gambling in August.
The ban on using social welfare for betting has received support from much of the industry, including the National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL).
The ANJL labelled the measures as “positive and necessary”, while saying they are “in line with responsible gaming, defended by the [legal] online betting and gaming market”.
STF hearing
The hearing at the STF was called after Brazil’s third biggest trade union, the National Confederation of Trade in Goods, Services and Tourism (CNC), filed an ADI (Ação Direta de Inconstitucionalidade) aiming to overturn the betting laws in the country.
The CNC claims Laws No 14,790/2023 and 13,756/2018 are unconstitutional, with Fux stating they will be assessed within the first half of 2025.
A number of high-profile members of Brazil’s betting sector spoke at the hearing, with the industry sharing its views that declaring betting laws unconstitutional would only serve to empower the black market in the country.