Brazil’s Attorney General’s Office (AGU) has asked Supreme Federal Court Justice Luiz Fux for 72 hours to allow the presidency and Attorney General Jorge Messias to respond to legal challenges against President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s provisional measure banning fixed-odds betting.¹

The request puts the government in a procedural posture, not a substantive one. AGU’s filing does not set out its view of the industry groups’ arguments or alter the rules now in force; Fux must still decide whether to grant the requested time.²

On the other side, the National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL) and the Brazilian Institute for Responsible Gaming (IBJR) are seeking to stop the measure while Congress considers it, or until the court rules on the case. If that is not accepted, they want at least six months to wind down operations, arguing that an abrupt halt would affect companies, customers and the sector’s functioning.¹

Their proposed alternative calls for extending the deadlines for “no less than six months” from the measure’s publication, with each authorized operator submitting a discontinuation plan and preserving customers’ ability to withdraw balances.¹ The groups also seek a pause in sanctions, including the blocking or forfeiture of company funds, during a supervised shutdown.

The dispute centers on the pace as much as the policy. The provisional measure bars the operation, offering, intermediation and advertising of fixed-odds bets, including sports betting and online games. Companies must make sites and apps unavailable within 10 days, while operating authorizations end after 30 days.²

Industry representatives say the measure lacks prior technical estimates of its effects on tax revenue, public policies and jobs. The government’s immediate step, however, has been to seek time to answer those claims before Fux considers any emergency relief.¹