ANALOME presents its technical position to the Supreme Federal Court and defends the autonomy of municipalities in ADPF 1212.

The National Association of Municipal and State Lotteries (ANALOME) filed detailed briefs with the Supreme Federal Court (STF) on November 10, 2025, within the scope of the Argument of Non-Compliance with Fundamental Precept (ADPF) 1.212. The action, brought by the Solidarity Party, questions the constitutionality of municipal laws that create public lottery services. As amicus curiae and representative entity of the sector , ANALOME presented robust legal and technical arguments, defending the full constitutionality of municipal lottery operations. The petition was formally signed by lawyers Daniel Amin Ferraz, Henrique Luiz Ferreira Coelho, Frederico de Assis Faria, and Paulo Horn.

The association emphasizes in the document that the discussion goes beyond the strictly legal field: it involves the federative autonomy of municipalities, the balance of the federative pact, and the sustainability of public policies financed by lottery revenue. Today, dozens of cities already use these resources to fund paving, health, infrastructure, and social assistance projects, demonstrating the concrete impact of these programs on the lives of local populations.

Exploration is not a monopoly of the Union.

One of the central points of ANALOME's statement to the Supreme Federal Court (STF) is the explanation of the difference between legislative competence and material competence. The Federal Constitution grants the Union the power to legislate on lottery modalities, but this does not mean exclusivity in the operation of the service.

In its briefs, the association highlights that recent decisions by the Supreme Federal Court itself—especially ADPFs 492 and 493, judged in 2020—have already established that the Union does not hold a monopoly on lottery operations. The Court recognized that states and the Federal District can operate authorized modalities, provided they respect national guidelines. ANALOME explains that the same logic applies to municipalities, which are also autonomous federative entities with original powers established in the Constitution.

Municipal jurisdiction is guaranteed by the Constitution.

ANALOME argues that municipalities not only can, but also have their own constitutional basis to organize and provide public services of local interest—which includes operating lotteries within their territory. This power is expressed in Article 30 of the Constitution, which guarantees municipalities administrative and financial autonomy.

The document clarifies that the absence of explicit mention of municipalities in Law 14.790/2023 — which regulated the fixed-odds betting and online gaming market — cannot be interpreted as a prohibition. The association argues that the law is silent on this point, but does not deny the municipal competence recognized by the Supreme Federal Court and the Constitution. A federal ordinary law, the text emphasizes, does not have the power to suppress the constitutional competences of another federative entity.

Case law reinforces municipal action.

The statement presented by ANALOME also revisits previous decisions that recognized the existence of municipal lotteries, demonstrating that, historically, federal legislation already contemplated this possibility. The entity emphasizes that older decisions against municipal lotteries were superseded by the ADPFs (Arguição de Descumprimento de Preceito Fundamental - Claim of Non-Compliance with a Fundamental Precept) judged in 2020, which redefined the understanding of the distribution of powers in the sector.

According to the association, any isolated irregularities in the execution of the service cannot be used as justification to suppress the constitutional competence of all Brazilian municipalities. According to the text, abuses should be monitored and corrected individually by the control bodies, and not treated as grounds for removing municipal autonomy.

Inspection and technology: ways to strengthen the sector.

In the briefs submitted to the Supreme Federal Court (STF), ANALOME reaffirms that adequate regulation, accompanied by modern control mechanisms — such as geoblocking to delimit the territorial scope of the operation — guarantees legal certainty, transparency, and respect for federal regulations.

The organization argues that municipalities, states, and the federal government can cooperate in the oversight process, strengthening the fight against illegal practices and promoting a regulated and sustainable environment.

ANALOME's request to the Supreme Court

At the end of the filed statement, ANALOME attached a legal opinion prepared by Dr. Paulo Horn, director of the institution, and requested that the Supreme Federal Court (STF) dismiss ADPF 1.212 and recognize the constitutionality of municipal laws that created lottery services, provided that the modalities defined by the Union are observed. The association emphasizes that the recognition of this competence strengthens federative autonomy, expands municipal revenue capacity, and ensures that cities have their own instruments to finance essential public policies.

According to Horn, municipal lotteries are essential for funding local public policies and should work together with the federal government.

“We defend the full constitutionality of the competence of other federated entities to operate public lottery services. Our argument is based on municipal autonomy (Article 30- I, II and V of the Federal Constitution), the prohibition of unequal treatment between federated entities (Article 19-III of the Federal Constitution), as well as Article 195-III of the Federal Constitution, in addition to precedents from the Supreme Federal Court itself (ADPFs 492/493) that have already rejected the federal monopoly on operation. The municipal lottery is crucial for financing local public policies, such as health and infrastructure – and should be integrated into the control and oversight system of this important entertainment industry, joining efforts with the Union and the States.”

"We ask the Supreme Federal Court to dismiss the action, preserving the federative autonomy and essential revenue collection of the municipalities," he stated.