The Minas Gerais Lottery cancels international public bidding process for operating lottery games in the state.
The Minas Gerais State Lottery (LEMG) has cancelled International Public Tender LEMG No. 002/2023, which sought to hire a company to operate lottery games in the state. The decision was announced on Friday (January 30) by the institution's Director-General, Onésimo Diniz Moreira.
The cancellation aims to adapt the process to Law No. 14.133/2021, which establishes new rules for bidding and administrative contracts. LEMG is already planning to initiate a new bidding procedure fully aligned with current legislation.
The agency's technicians are already working on the new tender, adapted to current legislation, which will be launched later this year.
Details of the cancelled concession
The terminated bidding process aimed to select a company to operate online/real-time lottery games in Minas Gerais. The scope included accepting both land-based and cyberspace bets , encompassing all lottery modalities stipulated in federal and state legislation.
The winning company would be responsible for various services, such as strategic planning, game creation, implementation of lottery products, marketing, and structuring a network of points of sale. The contract would also include the development of websites, virtual platforms, conducting raffles, and paying out prizes.
Originally, LEMG had scheduled the International Public Tender for March 5, 2024. The deadline for submitting proposals in sealed envelopes was also set for that date, with the opening of the first envelope, containing the remuneration proposal, scheduled for April 6.
It is worth remembering that, with the firm purpose of attributing full legitimacy, transparency and fairness to the process, the bidding stage was preceded by a Public Consultation, held on October 10, 2023, and a Public Hearing, held on November 28, 2023, in which contributions suggested by the participants were evaluated and incorporated for the elaboration and improvement of the preliminary business plan.
The original process was based on Law 8.666/1993 and Federal Law No. 8.987/95, which regulate bidding and concessions for public services. With its extinction, LEMG intends to initiate a procedure fully aligned with Law No. 14.133/2021.
Legal basis for the decision
The termination was formalized by Memorandum LEMG/DG No. 5/2026, dated January 28, addressed to the Special Bidding Committee. The document details the reasons for the cancellation and establishes the next administrative steps.
One of the determining factors was a Legal Note (No. 01/2026 – SEI No. 132051815), which concluded that it was not feasible to proceed with the bidding process under the original legal regime. The note considered the substantial changes proposed by the technical area in the tender notice, with particular emphasis on the change in the judging criteria to "technique and price".
The State Attorney General's Office (AGE) also recommended the official publication of the termination act as an essential measure to guarantee transparency and legal certainty, as mentioned in the Legal Note.
Based on these considerations, the Director-General of LEMG determined four actions: to accept the AGE's guidelines to terminate the procedure; to publish the Notice of Termination in the Official Gazette of Minas Gerais and on the LEMG website; to archive the current process after publication; and to initiate a new process in the Electronic Information System (SEI) for the bidding procedure that will follow Law No. 14.133/2021.
LEMG reported that the decision aims to "safeguard the public interest, with a view to transparency, legal certainty and observance of the principles of legality, publicity and equality". No deadlines were given for launching the new bidding process, but technicians are already working on the new tender document.
History of suspensions in the bidding process.
It is important to highlight that, prior to the definitive cancellation, the process had already faced judicial suspensions. In May 2024, Judge Alberto Diniz Junior, of the Court of Justice of Minas Gerais, denied an appeal requesting a stay of execution in the interlocutory appeal filed by LEMG against a decision by Judge Andre Luiz Tonello de Almeida, of the 4th Public Treasury and Autonomous Entities Court of the District of Belo Horizonte.
The court decision upheld the suspension of the public bidding process, as determined in a writ of mandamus filed by SDL – Sistema de Distribuição Lotérica. At the time, the judge noted that no evidence had been submitted to the court proving that the objections raised in International Public Bidding Process No. 0002/2023 had been effectively addressed within the legal timeframe.
On May 29, 2024, the Minas Gerais Lottery published a notice in the Official Gazette of the State of Minas Gerais regarding the suspension of the competition, informing that the continuation and designation of new dates would be duly published later.
