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Brazilian Supreme Court considers joint hearings on betting and lottery cases

Regulation2 min read

In brief

  • STF president Edson Fachin said the court could jointly assess betting, municipal lottery and games-ban cases.
  • No trial date has been set.
  • Justice Flávio Dino suggested grouping the proceedings; Fachin had initially favoured separate trials.
  • Justice Luiz Fux said he needs more time to finalise his opinion.
Supreme Federal Court building in Brasília (2025)

Brazilian Federal Supreme Court (STF) president Justice Edson Fachin indicated that the court could assess jointly the cases on online betting regulation, municipal lotteries and the prohibition of games. The possibility was raised during a plenary session, and no date has been set for the trial.

The justices listened to lawyers on Wednesday the 4th in a dispute over halting lotteries approved by municipalities. The Solidariedade party brought the action, which challenges whether cities may set up and govern lotteries of their own. Justice Kassio Nunes Marques, who reports the case, ordered these activities halted across the country late last year.

Justice Flávio Dino was the one who proposed grouping all the proceedings, at the close of the oral arguments. Dino put the question of a joint trial to Fachin, citing the connection between the issues. Dino also said he is prepared to return a request for review of the case. That request was made in August, in a case about whether the ban on games is valid under the 1941 Criminal Misdemeanors Law.

Fachin initially said the aim of the STF Presidency was to keep the cases separate. After hearing the other justices, he acknowledged the possibility of combining the cases in a joint trial at an appropriate time. Fachin said: "The Presidency’s inclination is toward a separate trial; however, I am of course open to the panel’s considerations".

Luiz Fux, the justice responsible for the betting cases, also floated a joint trial. Fux noted that the STF is now receiving suits against the federal provisional measure that prohibited online gaming and sports wagering across Brazil. Fux said a portion of his vote is ready, though he wants additional time before completing his opinion.

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