Nunes Marques admits states and associations to lawsuit regarding municipal lotteries at the Supreme Court.
Minister Nunes Marques, rapporteur of the Argument of Non-Compliance with Fundamental Precept (ADPF) 1212 in the Supreme Federal Court (STF), granted the participation of the states of Santa Catarina, Espírito Santo, Rondônia and the National Association for the Legal Security of Games and Bets (Anseja) as amicus curiae in the process. The decision was taken this Thursday (16) and broadens the debate on the constitutionality of municipal legislation that authorizes the creation of lotteries and betting systems.
ADPF 1212, proposed by the Solidarity party, questions the competence of municipalities to legislate on lottery services. In August of this year, the minister had already admitted the participation of the National Association of Municipal and State Lotteries (ANALOME), the National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL), the National Confederation of Services (CNS), and the State of Paraná in the same process.
In the lawsuit, the Solidarity party requests that all municipal laws and decrees establishing lottery or betting systems be temporarily suspended (by preliminary injunction) until the Supreme Federal Court (STF) rules on the merits of their unconstitutionality. The party argues that these local rules infringe upon the exclusive competence of the Federal Government to legislate on the subject, with the aim of increasing its revenues "at any cost."
Arguments from new participants
The State of Santa Catarina, in a petition, argued that several municipalities in Santa Catarina have created lotteries in violation of precedents set by the Supreme Federal Court (STF). The entity maintained that there is no local interest that justifies municipal action in this area.
The State of Rondônia submitted a petition emphasizing the relevance of the matter under discussion and its economic, social, and legal repercussions. The state highlighted its technical expertise and role in regulating fixed-odds betting through the State Secretariat of Finance.
The state of Espírito Santo formalized its request, stating that it has a legal interest and the capacity to contribute to the discussion. The state expressed its support for the original request in the lawsuit.
The National Association for the Legal Security of Games and Betting (Anseja) requested participation through petition no. 143.449/2025. The entity highlighted its national representativeness, technical expertise, and work in promoting legality in the gaming and betting sector.
In granting the requests, Minister Nunes Marques based his decision on articles 6, § 2, of Law No. 9.882/1999 and 7, § 2, of Law No. 9.868/1999, which regulate the participation of interested third parties in constitutional review processes.
The minister considered that all applicants meet the necessary requirements established by the Court's jurisprudence: relevance of the matter, representativeness of the applicants, and connection between their institutional purposes and the subject of the action.
History of the event and previous participants.
In a previous decision, from March of this year, Minister Nunes Marques did not grant the injunction against municipal autonomy for the operation of public lottery services. At that time, the rapporteur highlighted the relevance of the matter and its impact on social order and legal certainty, opting instead to request information from the authorities responsible for the questioned actions, with a ten-day deadline for response.
Paraná, one of the first states admitted as amicus curiae, mentioned in its petition that it had already been accepted in ACO No. 369, a case related to the issue of state lotteries. This prior experience was considered by the minister when accepting the state's participation in the current action.
ANALOME demonstrated its representativeness in the lottery sector, while CNS reported representing more than 350 companies, mainly from the information technology sector, whose platforms offer online betting games. ANJL, in turn, submitted its application stating that it has 24 associated companies, 15 of which operate in the fixed-odds lottery betting modality.
The minister also rejected the request from the company Bethanus Assessoria Empresarial Ltda, explaining that the admission of "friends of the court" does not constitute a subjective right of the applicant and that the company did not have national representation that justified its admission to the process.
Municipalities questioned and risks identified.
Among the municipal laws questioned by the Solidarity party are those of São Vicente, Guarulhos, Campinas, and São Paulo, in the state of São Paulo; Belo Horizonte (Minas Gerais); Anápolis and Caldas Novas, in Goiás; Foz do Iguaçu (Paraná); Pelotas and Porto Alegre, in Rio Grande do Sul; Bodó (Rio Grande do Norte); and Miguel Pereira (Rio de Janeiro). According to the party, many other municipalities have already created or are deliberating on the creation of their own local lotteries.
The Solidarity party warned in the proceedings about the proliferation of municipal lotteries operating irregularly. "There are countless municipalities that open up public infrastructure to unauthorized companies so that, through the exploitation of lottery activity, they can appropriate citizens' resources in a manner disguised as legitimate municipal laws, but illegally," they stated.
The lawsuit brings together several cases in which private companies won bids to operate lottery services granted by municipalities, even without the proper authorization from the Ministry of Finance. According to the party, while the ministry sets a value of R$ 30 million for these concessions, in some cases the companies pay only R$ 5.
If municipal lotteries are not invalidated, the Solidarity party argues that companies authorized to operate nationally will have an incentive to expand into municipalities as well. This would result in greater risk for consumers, due to the lack of guarantees regarding the integrity of the services offered, since each city will have its own regulations.
The decisions were published on October 16, 2025, expanding the number of participants in the action that discusses the limits of municipal authority to legislate on lotteries and betting in the national context.
