Rio de Janeiro published a decree regulating video lottery terminals in commercial venues, with the state lottery authority LOTERJ responsible for oversight. The rules allow businesses to seek installation of the machines, which will undergo testing and inspection; the decree gives no implementation timetable or limit on the number of venues.
Retail venues in Rio de Janeiro can seek to install VLTs under LOTERJ oversight.
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Rio de Janeiro’s municipal health department introduced screening for betting dependency at primary-care clinics in August 2026. In the first week, 3,070 patients answered the questions: 22 said they felt a need to bet, and 15 said they had concealed gambling expenditure from family. A positive response triggers further assessment and care, with support also available to relatives.
Brazilian Senate candidate Carlos Jordy said he would seek to ban online betting if elected to represent Rio de Janeiro. He argued that betting harms families; the source also reports that presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro is considering tighter restrictions, with no decision on a ban yet.
LOTERJ president Fabíola Esteves highlighted Rio de Janeiro’s defence of video lottery terminal regulation. Speaking at GAT Brasil, she referred to the state government’s position supporting the constitutionality of its 2025 decree.
Brazil’s National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL) said it will take legal measures against a Rio de Janeiro municipal decree restricting sports-betting advertising. The association argues that federal rules should govern the sector and says it will seek to uphold federal advertising regulations.
Rio de Janeiro issued a decree on 13 July prohibiting betting-platform advertising in public spaces and outdoor media, including billboards, large screens and street furniture. The measure does not cover digital or television advertising, which remains under federal rules. The Attorney General’s Office has separately asked Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court to suspend a Rio Grande do Sul law imposing state-level betting-advertising restrictions.