Minister André Mendonça will be the rapporteur for the AGU's lawsuit against LOTERJ.

By: Magno José

André Mendonça: "Where there is no state, there is organized crime" — The lawsuit filed by the Attorney General's Office (AGU), which was reassigned to Justice André Mendonça, aims to prohibit the Rio de Janeiro State Lottery (LOTERJ) from authorizing online betting sites nationwide.

The Initial Processing Coordination of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) drew this Wednesday morning (30) Minister André Mendonça to replace Minister Edson Fachin in the Original Civil Action (ACO 3696) filed by the Attorney General's Office (AGU) with the aim of prohibiting the Rio de Janeiro State Lottery – LOTERJ from authorizing online sports betting companies nationwide.

In its legal action, the Attorney General's Office (AGU) requests that betting activities in Rio de Janeiro cease immediately. The AGU argues that the rules for accrediting betting establishments by Loterj (the Rio de Janeiro State Lottery) are lax and do not restrict online betting to the state, thus creating opportunities for money laundering and the financing of terrorist activities.

Loterj, on the other hand, says that a potential suspension of betting operations in Rio de Janeiro violates the principle of legal certainty. The Lottery claims that the termination of authorizations could result in multimillion-dollar compensation claims, in addition to a significant loss of revenue.

In practice, the regulatory body bypasses the Ministry of Finance's Prize and Betting Secretariat, which adopted specific criteria for the operation of betting sites in Brazil, and authorizes websites that are not on the federal government's list. These are: Vai de Bet; Ganhabet; Betvip; Caesar Sports; Rio Jogos; Apostou; Pix Hora; PixBet; MarjoSports; Loto Legal; and BestBet.