Brazil Attorney General’s Office calls for betting laws to be deemed unconstitutional

On Friday, Brazil’s Attorney General’s Office (AGU) argued that provisions of the laws legalising betting are unconstitutional.

In a statement sent to the Supreme Federal Court (STF), the body asked the court to declare laws 13.756 of 2018 and 14.790 of 2023 as incompatible with Brazil’s Constitution. It asserted that the rules present insufficient protection and do not establish mechanisms against damage to public health, the family and the economic order.

In its request, the AGU cited several harmful effects caused by gambling. Among them are family debt, lack of protection for children and adolescents and impacts on the formal economy. It also cited a 140% increase in care provided by the Unified Health System (SUS) to people with disorders caused by gambling addiction.

“The reasons set forth above demonstrate that the regulatory framework of Laws No. 13.756/2018 and No. 14.790/2023 was extensively flawed,” the request stated.

According to the AGU, the framework includes “an exploratory leniency that could not be reconciled with the adequate protection of fundamental rights of paramount importance, such as human dignity, public health and the minimum subsistence level”.

72 hours to protest

Minister Luiz Fux, rapporteur for the matters at the STF, requested information from the government regarding the provisional measure that banned betting in Brazil, which was issued by Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on 25 September.

Fux determined on Friday that the AGU has 72 hours to comment on the matter.

The AGU itself had requested this timeframe from the minister to respond to the case after the first lawsuit was filed.

During this, it filed a new lawsuit with the STF, changing some points of its argument. It gained the initial time it hoped for and now has further 72 hours.