Amapá suspends state lottery tender to revise fixed-odds betting terms

The Amapá state government suspended its tender for the state lottery concession, cancelling the electronic bidding session for Concorrência 037/2026-SECCOMPRAS that had been scheduled for 27 October at 08:30 Brasília time in the SIGA system. The suspension notice was published in the state's official gazette, issue 8.770 of Monday 26 October, and signed by Luiz Cássio da Penha Chagas, coordinator of tender processes at the Secretariat of State for Purchasing and Sustainable Tenders (SECCOMPRAS). According to the notice, the requesting body reviewed a request for clarification and concluded that the tender documents need revision.

The revision is intended to align the tender with Provisional Measure 1,394/2026, which prohibited fixed-odds betting in Brazil. The requesting body is the Secretariat of State for Finance (SEFAZ-AP), responsible for process 00025/SEFAZ/2025 in SIGA. The notice sets no new date; it states only that if the tender is to proceed it will be rescheduled later, with the documents published again as Law 14,133/2021 requires. The case files remain open to interested parties, and Edital 037/2026 already shows the status "Suspensa" on the National Public Procurement Portal (PNCP).

The conflict centres on fixed-odds betting. The tender provided for a 20-year concession covering six lottery modalities: passive lottery, numerical prognostics, specific prognostics, sports prognostics, an exclusive instant lottery and fixed-odds betting. The terms of reference required the concessionaire to operate every modality in the object, including fixed-odds betting. Provisional Measure 1,394/2026, issued on 25 September, prohibited the operation, offering, intermediation and advertising of fixed-odds betting in national territory, and the ban also covers authorisations granted by states and the Federal District. One of the tender's mandatory modalities is therefore barred by a federal rule with the force of law.

Prohards had submitted a query to SECCOMPRAS and SEFAZ-AP about the status of fixed-odds betting after the provisional measure, and as of the eve of the session the query had no public answer. The suspension notice does not identify who filed the clarification request that prompted the revision.

The tender was opened in May, with a session initially scheduled for 13 July. After postponements, the documents were republished in gazette issue 8.729 of 28 August, and a further postponement appeared in issue 8.748 of 24 September, with the session finally set for 27 October. The concession carries a minimum fixed grant of BRL 2.6m, the estimated figure recorded on the PNCP, and the total estimated value of the contract is BRL 22.56m. The winner would have to set up a special purpose company (SPE) with its registered office or a branch in Amapá, with supervision by the granting authority or the Amapá Regulatory Agency for Delegated Public Services (ARSAP). The legal basis for the state lottery is State Law 3,126/2024.

The suspension comes while Provisional Measure 1,394 awaits the installation of the joint committee in Congress and is under discussion at the Supreme Court. Justice Luiz Fux has called a public hearing on the matter for 3 November. The future of the Amapá tender therefore depends on the measure's fate: if it is converted into law, fixed-odds betting leaves the object; if it lapses or is amended, the state may have to revise the documents again.