On August 7, the Rio de Janeiro State Lottery proposed an injunction requested in advance against the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel), so that it could notify connection providers to block or suspend the operation of the hundreds of ‘Bets’ – as operators are called in Brazil - indicated by Loterj in the action.
The 'Bets' that would be targeted by the block were those that had not requested a state license, according to Rio de Janeiro State Decree No. 48,806/2023.
Loterj had its preliminary injunction denied in the first instance, which was partially reformed in a decision to anticipate the effects of the appeal in an appeal. The objective was to “authorize ANATEL to verify the operational legitimacy of the companies listed in the initial complaint (…), before Loterj and, if not, to take the appropriate measures, within the limits of the State of Rio de Janeiro, to determine the suspension of the fixed-odds lottery betting activities that are in disagreement with the legislation applicable to the case”.
Considering that several betting houses filed an appeal and filed an appeal against this decision – as did the Attorney General's Office (AGU) –, on August 12, the rapporteur revoked the measure sought by Loterj on the grounds that the 'Bets' must regularize their operations by December 31, 2024.
On August 20, immediately after the decision, Loterj filed a statement withdrawing the main action it had filed against Anatel.
On August 22, the 13th Federal Civil Court of the Federal District Court of the Federal District of São Paulo (SJDF) considered Loterj's request and dismissed the lawsuit due to Loterj's lack of standing to appeal.
This is because the initial petition was signed by its president, Hazenclever Lopes Cançado, who, despite being a lawyer registered with the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB), is prohibited from practicing law as president of the autarchy. Therefore, according to the ruling, not even the request for withdrawal could have been considered.
In view of this decision, Loterj is still eligible to appeal. In addition, the appeal filed, mentioned above, is pending judgment. However, considering that the main lawsuit was dismissed, the appeal should be dismissed.
Given this scenario, the issue of jurisdiction to legislate on the regulation/authorization of betting houses will not be considered by the Federal Regional Court (TRF) for the time being. To this end, we are awaiting the judgment of individual lawsuits filed by some 'Bets'.
Source: Demarest
