On 3 December 2025, Supreme Court Justice Kassio Nunes Marques suspended all municipal regulations across Brazil that create lotteries or authorise the exploitation of lottery services and municipal sports betting, in a preliminary injunction under Fundamental Rights Breach Claim (ADPF) No. 1212, brought by the Solidariedade party.
The decision orders the immediate cessation of any operations derived from municipal acts: extending beyond the suspension of tender procedures to encompass operations already underway. It also prohibits any new acts aimed at implementing, continuing or resuming this type of service, under penalty of substantial daily fines.
Legal basis
Law No. 14,790/2023, amending Law No. 13,756/2018, designated the Ministry of Finance: through the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (SPA): as the competent authority to regulate and credential companies authorised to operate betting at the national level. The legislation expressly recognises that lottery exploitation also falls to States and the Federal District, but is silent on municipalities.
The injunction highlights that the proliferation of municipal regulations created a fragmented regulatory landscape, weakening federal oversight, distorting revenue collection parameters and relaxing consumer protection standards: creating a systemic risk to federal balance.
Three central rationales
The rapporteur's opinion identifies three core grounds for suspension: (i) lottery activity cannot be treated as a matter of local interest, given its national ramifications; (ii) the technical, fiscal and regulatory complexity of modern modalities: particularly fixed-odds betting and online operations: requires centralised oversight; and (iii) the socioeconomic and public order risks arising from dispersed control, including fiscal competition, reduced consumer protection standards and the entry of unauthorised operators.
Scope and enforcement
The injunction reaches both municipal legislation and operations already underway, including concessions and models where municipal companies sublicensed operators. The rapporteur affirms that contractual arrangements do not preclude the need for immediate cessation when the municipal regulatory basis is suspended. Claims of acquired rights or protection of legitimate expectations are also dismissed at this stage.
Daily fines of BRL 500,000 are established for non-compliant municipalities and companies, with individual penalties of BRL 50,000 per day for mayors and executives who persist in continuing operations.
Significance for operators
As reported at the time, the decision created a material risk point for any operation relying on a municipal lottery or sports betting authorisation, directly or indirectly. The injunction was described as applying nationally. Under the federal statute framing cited in the decision, SPA/MF authorisation is the principal federal route for regulated fixed-odds sports betting. Structures that attempted to operate under municipal frameworks, whether as a transitional or parallel route, were directly exposed by the interim measure as reported.
This article records the interim posture as of December 2025. Plenary review outcomes and later procedural developments must be verified against the STF docket and primary sources before any current operational conclusion is drawn.