The governor of São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans), argued that the measure was urgent because the state has an auction for the concession of its lottery services scheduled for next Monday (28).
The effectiveness of the rules in question puts “at risk the success of public competitions and the provision of lottery services at the state level,” said the governor in the request. Fux agreed and granted the precautionary measure, which will be analyzed by the other ministers of the Court.
For the minister, the proximity of the auction for the concession of lottery services in São Paulo justifies the granting of the precautionary measure, because if the restrictions that he considers unconstitutional are maintained, the universe of interested companies tends to be smaller.
The judgment on the merits had begun in the virtual plenary session last Friday (18). Fux voted to declare unconstitutional the section of the law that allows advertising only in the state where the service is domiciled. The action was filed by the states of São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Acre, Mato Grosso do Sul, Rio de Janeiro and the Federal District.
Fux understood that the states have the authority to operate public lottery services and that the Union cannot establish differential treatment among the federative entities, “privileging certain states to the detriment of others or privileging itself to the detriment of the member states,”
“In the current reality of a globalized market and widespread media, it may make sense for a State that intends to market its lottery products to carry out marketing actions at events held outside its territory, as long as the broadcast of these events reaches the physically located public and its limits,” stated the minister.
Decision does not apply to 'Bets'
The minister highlighted that the decision does not cover fixed-odds bets, only the lottery modalities listed in §1 of art. 14 of Federal Law No. 13,756/2018, which legalized the exploration of sports betting in the country. The measure applies only to number lotteries, numbered tickets and instant lotteries.
Source: GMB
