Toffoli warns that banning sports betting expands the illegal market.
Minister Dias Toffoli warned, during a plenary session of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) this Thursday (August 6), that an absolute ban on sports betting could expand the illegal market and make state oversight impossible. "If you prohibit everything, you go into illegality. And illegality is worse, because the State has no control," he declared.
The demonstration took place during the trial in which the Supreme Federal Court (STF) is analyzing whether Article 50 of the Law of Criminal Offenses, which criminalizes the exploitation of gambling, was received by the 1988 Constitution. The appeal has recognized general repercussion and discusses the compatibility of the norm with principles such as free initiative, individual autonomy, and proportionality.
Illegal betting and Pix
Toffoli cited macroeconomic data provided by a financial institution to illustrate the growth of clandestine platforms. According to the minister, 15 of the top 20 recipients of Pix transfers from that institution are illegal betting sites.
These operations use CNPJs (Brazilian company tax IDs) that disappear after the funds are raised, leaving bettors with no way to recover the transferred amounts. "They deceive the citizen and vanish from the market," said Toffoli.
The minister distinguished between legalized companies, which appear in sports broadcasts, and clandestine platforms. According to him, the latter represent the most serious problem because they operate beyond the reach of regulatory bodies, including in cases of websites based in countries with which Brazil does not maintain diplomatic relations.
Social impact and regulatory context
According to the minister, the phenomenon of gambling affects people of all ages, social classes, and income levels. "We have to look at this issue of gambling today as a social disease," he stated.
Toffoli also pointed out that the expansion of online betting has created a completely different reality from the one that existed when the law on criminal offenses was enacted in 1941. “It’s a new, complex, and difficult world. It’s not the world of the 40s. We really need to dedicate more time to this,” he concluded.
Disagreement and suspension of judgment
The rapporteur for the case, Justice Luiz Fux, voted in favor of the validity of the rule. Justice Flávio Dino agreed with this conclusion, but argued that the Supreme Court should evaluate, in a coordinated manner, the actions dealing with the regulation of betting, with the aim of avoiding incompatible treatments between different types of games.
Disagreement over the scope of the judgment led Dino to request a review, which suspended the analysis. The case is being processed under RE 966.177.
