The National Association of Municipal and State Lotteries (Analome) filed detailed briefs this Monday (10) before the Supreme Federal Court (STF) within the scope of the Argument of Non-Compliance with Fundamental Precept (ADPF) 1,212, a type of constitutional action in Brazil. The case, filed by the Solidarity Party, questions the constitutionality of municipal laws that create public lottery services. In the document, the entity requests that the matter be dismissed.
As and a sector-representative body, Analome presented robust legal and technical arguments, defending the full constitutionality of municipal lottery operations. The petition was formally signed by lawyers Daniel Amin Ferraz, Henrique Luiz Ferreira Coelho, Frederico de Assis Faria and Paulo Horn.
The association emphasizes in the document that the discussion goes beyond the strictly legal field: it involves municipal federative autonomy, the balance of the federal pact, and the sustainability of public policies funded by lottery revenues. Today dozens of cities already use these revenues to fund paving works, health, infrastructure and social assistance -- demonstrating the concrete impact of these programs in local populations.
Exploitation is not a monopoly of the Union
One of the central points of Analome's submission to the STF is the explanation about the difference between legislative competence and operational competence. The Federal Constitution attributes to the Union the power to legislate on lottery types, but this does not mean exclusivity in the exploitation of the service.
In the briefs, the association highlights that recent STF decisions (especially ADPFs 492 and 493, judged in 2020) have already established that the Union does not have a monopoly on lottery operations.
The Court recognized that States and the Federal District may operate authorized modalities, provided they respect national frameworks. Analome explains that the same logic applies to municipalities, which are also autonomous federative entities, with original competences provided in the Constitution.
Municipal competence is guaranteed by the Constitution
Analome argues that municipalities not only may but have their own constitutional basis to organize and provide local-interest public services, which includes operating lotteries within their territory. This competence is expressed in Article 30 of the Constitution, which ensures administrative and financial autonomy for municipalities.
The document clarifies that the absence of an explicit mention of municipalities in Law 14,790/2023, which regulated the fixed-odds betting market and online gaming, cannot be interpreted as a prohibition. The association contends that the law is silent on this point, but does not deny municipal competence recognized by the STF and the Constitution. A federal ordinary law, the text stresses, cannot suppress constitutional competences of another federative entity.
Jurisprudence reinforces municipal involvement
The submission by Analome also revisits previous decisions that recognized the existence of municipal prognostic contests, showing that historically federal legislation already contemplated this possibility. The entity emphasizes that older decisions against municipal lotteries have been superseded by the 2020 ADPFs, which redefined the allocation of competences in the sector.
According to the association, isolated irregularities in service execution cannot justify the removal of constitutional competence from all Brazilian municipalities. The text states that abuses must be monitored and corrected individually by oversight bodies, and not used as a basis for stripping municipal autonomy.
Oversight and technology: paths to strengthen the sector
In the briefs presented to the STF, Analome reaffirms that proper regulation, accompanied by modern control mechanisms such as geoblocking to define the operational territory, guarantees legal certainty, transparency and compliance with federal norms.
The entity argues that municipalities, States and the Union may cooperate in the oversight process, reinforcing the fight against illegal practices and promoting a regulated and sustainable environment.
Analome's request to the Supreme Court
At the end of its submission, Analome appended a Legal Opinion prepared by Dr. Paulo Horn, director of the institution, and requested that the STF declare ADPF 1,212 unfounded and recognize the constitutionality of the municipal laws that created lottery services, provided they respect the modalities defined by the Union.
The association emphasizes that recognizing this competence strengthens federative autonomy, expands municipal revenue-raising capacity and ensures that cities have their own instruments to finance essential public policies.
For Paulo Horn, municipal lotteries are essential to finance local public policies and must partner with the federal government.
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Source: GMB