In the injunction, Justice André Mendonça gave five days for companies accredited by the agency to suspend bets outside the state and ordered the activation of electronic mechanisms for geolocating bettors.
The injunction affects 25 companies, including sponsors of soccer teams. In its objections to Mendonça's injunction, Loterj argues that the decision could cause “serious potential damage to the income” of the State and the state lottery itself, as it unilaterally changes a public notice, which poses the risk of refunding fixed grants, ceasing collection of variable licenses, possible compensation for losses and damages, and “various other impacts, in the multimillion-dollar range”.
Loterj argues that the law that regulated 'Bets' does not require the use of geolocation and that the requirement is in an ordinance from the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting of the Ministry of Finance. Loterj claims that the law only restricts marketing “to people physically located within the limits of their jurisdictions or to those domiciled in their territory” and, therefore, adopted the control criterion through “Personal Declaration of the Bettor”.
In the document, Loterj argues that the mandatory geolocation in a preliminary injunction brings forward the final request made by the Union. The state lottery says that geolocation services are inefficient and that bettors in Rio de Janeiro have the right to place bets even when they are away from their home.
In a statement, Loterj regretted the STF's decision. It stated that the notice for the accreditation of 'Bets' used the service provider's home as a parameter, “giving the same legal and tax treatment applied to e-commerce, in strict compliance with current legislation.”
Loterj also stated that the rules for the sports betting sector in its territory were a “necessary and legitimate response to the inaction of the Union itself”, which did not regulate the 'Bets' law within the established deadline. “The eventual invalidation of the legal acts that accredited the companies would result in millions in compensation, a significant loss of tax revenue for the Union itself, and the destructuring of an entire regulated economic sector,” says the company.
Full statement from Loterj
“Rio de Janeiro, January 3, 2024 - The Rio de Janeiro State Lottery (Loterj) regrets the decision of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), this Thursday (02/01), which determined the suspension of the operation of electronic games outside the limits of the state of Rio.
Loterj emphasizes that, when establishing the rules for such activity, it used as a parameter art. 3 of Complementary Law 116/2003, which considers the service provided at the service provider's home, giving the same legal-tax treatment applied to e-commerce, in strict compliance with current legislation.
Loterj also claims that its actions in regulating the sports betting sector in its territory were a necessary and legitimate response to the inaction of the Union itself, which allowed the deadline established in Law 13,756/2018 to elapse without due federal regulation.
Loterj also considers that this constitutional principle was expressly recognized and reinforced by Law 14,790/2023, which the Union claims is being violated.
For Loterj, the eventual invalidation of the legal acts that accredited the companies would imply millions in compensation, a significant loss of tax revenue for the Union itself, and the destructuring of an entire regulated economic sector.”
Lottery of the State of Rio de Janeiro (Loterj)
Source: GMB
