Supreme Federal Court minister André Mendonça rejects Loterj’s attempt to overturn the ban on state-licensed lottery brands in Brazil.
On January 2, STF minister André Mendonça issued a preliminary decision prohibiting Loterj licensees from operating nationwide in Brazil. The attorney general’s office (AGU) had initially filed the request in October, seeking to suspend certain 2023 provisions that allowed Loterj to regulate beyond the state of Rio de Janeiro.
Following the court’s decision, Loterj licensees are prohibited from accepting bets outside Rio de Janeiro and must reimplement geolocation tracking to ensure wagers are placed solely within the state.
STF minister André Mendonça’s ruling on January 2 gave Loterj a five-day deadline to cease nationwide operations and implement geolocation mechanisms to restrict bets within Rio de Janeiro.
Loterj promptly appealed the decision, claiming it contained “defects, omissions, obscurities, and material errors.” The regulator argued the ruling would reduce tax revenues and disrupt Brazil’s regulated betting market, which had launched on January 1. However, Mendonça rejected the appeal on January 7, stating it stemmed from “mere disagreement with the decision under appeal” and lacked substantial legal grounds.
Despite this, Loterj has submitted another request for the ruling to be overturned, maintaining that the decision contains significant errors and oversights.
