The Ministry of Sport tells the Supreme Court that the Provisional Measure on betting has undermined the ANJL's action against the Minas Gerais decree.
The Ministry of Sports believes that Provisional Measure No. 1.394/2026, which prohibited fixed-odds betting in the country, has undermined the grounds for Direct Action of Unconstitutionality (ADI) No. 8.014, filed by the National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL) against Decree No. 49.279/2026 of Minas Gerais. This understanding is contained in Information No. 00141/2026, from the Ministry's Legal Consultancy (CONJUR/MESP), which BNLData had access to. The document was signed on October 13 and approved the following day by the ministry's legal advisor, Guilherme Assunção Fagundes.
The case is being handled by Justice Flávio Dino. ANJL is represented by lawyers Pietro Cardia Lorenzoni and Bernardo Cavalcanti Freire.
What does the Minas Gerais decree say?
Published in the State Official Gazette on August 21, 2026, Decree No. 49.279 prohibits the dissemination of advertising, publicity, commercial promotion, or sponsorship of fixed-odds betting operators and adult content platforms on state public property and at events promoted or supported by the Executive Branch of Minas Gerais. The text also restricts the use of public resources in these actions and revokes the provision of the Minas Gerais State Lottery (Lemg) regulations that included fixed-odds betting among the state lottery modalities.
In the lawsuit, ANJL argues that the decree encroaches on the exclusive competence of the Union to legislate on lotteries and commercial advertising (articles 22, XX and XXIX, of the Constitution), violates the principle of legality by addressing a matter reserved for law through a sub-legal act, and harms free competition and equality. According to the association, the rule specifically affects operators authorized by the Ministry of Finance, while state operators would remain free to carry out the same advertising practices. The entity requests the full precautionary suspension of the decree or, subsidiarily, of articles 1 and 3, in addition to an interpretation in accordance with the Constitution to exclude its application to federal operators.
Five areas, one conclusion.
To respond to the Supreme Federal Court (STF), the Ministry's Executive Secretariat consulted its technical units. The Directorate for Monitoring and Evaluation of Sports Betting (DMAAE), linked to the National Secretariat for Sports Betting and Economic Development of Sport (SNAEDE), prepared the central analysis, which was then reviewed by SNAEDE itself, the National Secretariat for Football and Defense of Fan Rights, the Directorate for Governance, Strategic Management and Evaluation, and the National Secretariat for Sports Excellence.
DMAAE's argument is that the Provisional Measure changed the entire picture: the alleged discrimination between federal and state operators no longer exists, since both are prohibited from advertising and will have their authorizations revoked; the conflict of jurisdiction has disappeared because the Union itself has banned all advertising of bets, making the Minas Gerais restriction "less broad than the federal one"; and the request for interpretation in accordance with the Constitution becomes moot with the revocation of federal authorizations on October 25th. The board concludes that, since October 6th, no advertising of fixed-odds betting would be legal in the national territory, with or without the Minas Gerais decree.
The reservations that the ministry could not ignore.
The ministry itself, however, notes two reservations that weaken the argument: the Minas Gerais decree remains formally in effect because the provisional measure did not revoke it, and the provisional measure has provisional validity. In the words of DMAAE, if it is not converted into law, the previous situation may be reinstated.
Therefore, CONJUR avoids expressly requesting recognition of the loss of object. The opinion states that the Provisional Measure is a relevant supervening fact, but that this does not necessarily imply the end of the object of the action, an assessment that would be up to the Supreme Court.
It is worth remembering that the Provisional Measure itself is the subject of legal actions before the Supreme Federal Court (STF), including ADI 8.027, also filed by ANJL, and assigned to Justice Luiz Fux. In other words, the Ministry of Sport bases its statement on a regulation whose constitutionality is being debated in the same Court and whose fate depends on Congress.
The assertion that no gambling advertising would be legal in the country also coexists with an exception created by the government itself: gambling advertising for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup, supported by Law No. 15.421/2026 and Ordinance SPA/MF No. 2.596/2026.
Union defends state autonomy.
On the merits, CONJUR goes beyond the procedural issue and argues that there are insufficient grounds to declare the Minas Gerais decree entirely unconstitutional. Based on the judgments of ADPFs 492 and 493 and ADI 4.986, reported by Gilmar Mendes in 2020, the opinion argues that the decree does not prohibit the advertising of bets throughout the territory of Minas Gerais, limiting itself to state public assets and events supported by the Executive branch, which could be interpreted as an exercise of the State's administrative autonomy.
The irony is that this Supreme Court precedent was precisely what overturned the Union's monopoly on lotteries and paved the way for lottery operations by the states. The ministry clarifies that the application of the decree cannot create general restrictions on economic activity nor infringe upon the legislative competence of the Union, especially regarding public assets operated by private entities or private events with state support.
There is yet another contrast in the document. The Governance Directorate reports that it continues to structure the mechanisms for planning, monitoring, and accountability of resources allocated to sports originating from lotteries and fixed-odds betting, including transfers to the states. The ministry that manages the money from sports betting is the same one that now argues, before the Supreme Court, that the activity has ceased to exist.
Next Steps
With the approval of the legal advisor, the case files returned to the office of the Minister of Sports, who must forward the information to the Supreme Federal Court (STF). It will be up to Flávio Dino to decide whether the action has become moot or whether he will analyze the ANJL's request for an injunction. As long as the Provisional Measure is not voted on by Congress nor judged by the Supreme Court, the dispute over the Minas Gerais decree remains open.
