IBGE approves dedicated CNAE code for public lotteries from 2028

Brazil's national statistics institute, the Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE), has approved a new subcategory in the Classificação Nacional de Atividades Econômicas (CNAE) for the operation and administration of public lotteries, the institute confirmed on 22 October in reply to the Loteria do Estado do Paraná (Lottopar). The subcategory will sit under the future class 92.00-4, "Atividades de exploração de jogos de azar e apostas", and will form part of CNAE-Subclasses 3.0, which is due to take effect on 1 January 2028.

According to the institute's Coordenação de Cadastros e Classificações, the request "foi acolhido no âmbito dos trabalhos de revisão da CNAE-Subclasses". The approved text refers to "loterias públicas", a broader formulation than the original request, which was limited to state and district lotteries. The IBGE adopted the alternative route proposed by Lottopar: the new subcategory sits within the gambling and betting division but carries its own description, separate from private gambling.

Lottopar submitted the request in Ofício nº 076/2026, dated 26 May, signed by its director-president, Daniel Romanowski. The document cited the Supremo Tribunal Federal's rulings in ADPFs 492 and 493 and ADIs 4986 and 4784, in which the court defined the lottery as a public service and recognised that the Union, the states and the Federal District may operate it. It also cited article 35-A of Lei 13.756/2018, added by Lei 14.790/2023.

Lottopar argued that existing codes do not reflect the activity of companies that win state tenders and then operate, manage the technology for and distribute lottery products, in physical or digital environments. It said subclass 8299-7/06 (casas lotéricas) was designed for the Caixa retail permissionary network and does not cover companies operating technology platforms and administering transfers to states. It also said placing operators in group 92.00-3 (jogos de azar e apostas) would equate a delegated public service with private entertainment such as casinos and bingo, and cited fiscal distortions including the exclusion of distribution partners from Simples Nacional and restrictions on credits.

As its main request, Lottopar proposed splitting class 82.99-7 into a subcategory for "Operação, Gestão Tecnológica e Distribuição de Loterias Públicas Estaduais e Distritais". Alternatively, it suggested creating a code in Division 92 or, at minimum, revising the explanatory notes of the current codes. On 20 October, Lottopar's technical staff asked for an update on the process, which was already on the agenda of the Colegiado Técnico da Subcomissão da CNAE-Subclasses; the reply with the approval arrived two days later.

The source says the change gives state concessionaires and accredited operators more legal certainty and should improve statistics on a market that has grown since 2020. It adds that the tax effects still depend on how fiscal rules treat the new subcategory, citing Simples Nacional rules that usually refer to CNAE codes, and that the sector will have until the entry into force of CNAE-Subclasses 3.0 in 2028 to follow that regulation.