The Rio Grande do Norte Court of Justice declared the first three articles of Itajá’s municipal lottery law unconstitutional, according to the report. The court ruled in a case brought by the state prosecutor’s office, finding that municipal authority did not extend to creating and regulating the lottery service.
The ruling removes the legal basis for Itajá’s planned municipal lottery service.
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Brazil’s Attorney General’s Office (AGU) asked the Supreme Federal Court on 9 June to declare unconstitutional a Rio Grande do Sul law restricting online betting advertising, according to media reports. The AGU argued that commercial betting advertising falls under federal authority and said the state rules could create conflicting obligations for licensed operators. The case, brought by the National Association of Games and Lotteries, has no scheduled hearing date; the law restricts advertising and sponsorship and sets a 120-day compliance period.
Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court suspended its hearing on a challenge to municipal laws governing lotteries and sports betting on 4 November 2026. President Edson Fachin agreed to consider the case alongside other proceedings on betting, lotteries and games of chance; the court has set no date for resuming the hearing.
On Wednesday the 4th, the full bench of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) halted its consideration of ADPF 1212 once the report had been read and the oral arguments delivered. The court has not fixed a date for the proceedings to pick up again.
It was reported that Rio governor Ricardo Couto de Castro defended the state’s lottery decree before TJRJ. He argued that it complies with the STF’s decision and regulates existing lottery operations rather than establishing a new gambling category.
Rio Grande do Sul's Law 16.508 took effect on 25 August, restricting fixed-odds betting advertising. It requires risk warnings covering at least 15% of advertisements and limits broadcasts to 21:00–06:00. The STF has yet to decide an ANJL application to suspend the law on constitutional grounds.
The National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL) welcomed the Prosecutor-General's Office opinion seeking suspension of Rio Grande do Sul's Law 16.508/2026, according to the association. The law sets state restrictions on advertising, promotion and sponsorship for fixed-odds betting platforms. ANJL said the opinion supports its challenge to the law, which it argues encroaches on federal powers.