In January 2024, the Ministry of Finance created the Secretariat for Prizes and Bets (SPA). On May 21, the agency published Ordinance 827/2024, which established the rules for requesting authorization to operate fixed-odds bets.
The rule determined that companies that submitted an application for authorization to operate within 90 days of its publication would receive, within 180 days of the same date, notification to make the payment of the R$30 million grant, necessary for the regularization of activities. If the application was denied, an appeal would be possible.
Cash for Pay, owner of Bet Million, filed the application for authorization to operate on August 20. Therefore, it should have received notification with the order to pay the grant or the denial of the application by November 18. However, the company did not receive any response by the end of the year, and filed a writ of mandamus to be able to continue operating.
Speed of the process
In his decision, Judge Itagiba Catta Preta Neto pointed out that individuals and legal entities have the right to a well-founded administrative decision, according to article 48 of Law 9.784/1999. Article 5, LXXVIII, of the Constitution guarantees everyone, in the judicial and administrative spheres, “a reasonable duration of the process and the means that ensure the speed of its processing.”
“The omission or delay in resolving the administrative authorization process, in the present case, violates the rights of the complainant, culminating in a true death sentence for the legal entity in view of the dynamics of the specific market,” said Catta Preta.
Cash for Pay is represented by the law firms Rafael Faria Advogados and Nelson Willians Advogados. Rafael Faria stated that betting houses should have the right to request the regularization of their operations.
“The imposition of administrative measures to regulate the betting market is fundamental and legitimate. However, from the largest to the smallest, the same rights and duties must be given with regard to fulfilling the legal requirements.”
Source: Conjur
