17 Brazilian clubs go to the STF against the ban on online betting in MP 1.394

Seventeen clubs from Brazil’s Série A and Série B have asked the Supremo Tribunal Federal (STF) to join constitutional challenges against Medida Provisória nº 1.394, which bans online betting in Brazil. For payment providers and sponsors in high-risk verticals, the immediate issue is not abstract regulation: the measure cuts off betting-related revenue streams and, according to the clubs, could even disrupt the Brasileirão.

1. Fluminense, Botafogo and 15 other clubs filed requests on Friday (2/10) to enter the STF cases challenging the federal government’s betting ban. The filings are linked to Ação Direta de Inconstitucionalidade 8027, following a separate move by Flamengo, which had already gone to the STF on its own days earlier.
2. The 17 clubs in the group are América, Athletic, Atlético-GO, Avaí, Botafogo-SP, Ceará, Chapecoense, CRB, Criciúma, Cruzeiro, Goiás, Juventude, Mirassol, Novorizontino and Vila Nova, alongside Fluminense and Botafogo.
3. On the same day, São Paulo, Ponte Preta, Guarani, Vitória and Portuguesa submitted a separate petition to Justice Luiz Fux, who is rapporteur for other STF cases on bets. Those clubs had filed their request on Thursday (1/10) and are asking for a transition period of six months to one year to adapt to Medida Provisória nº 1.394, dated 25 September 2026.
4. The clubs argue that football is a “cultural heritage” of Brazil under the Federal Constitution and warn of a concrete risk of interruption to the Campeonato Brasileiro. In their filing, they say club executives and the national union of football associations are discussing the possibility of stopping the league before the season ends.
5. The same petition says the MP is forcing the removal of all betting-related advertising and sponsorship material within ten days, which would require clubs to find replacement sponsors immediately. The clubs also reject the federal government’s credit line as a substitute for the revenue lost during the season.

Parallel to the clubs’ filings, the Associação Nacional de Jogos e Loterias (ANJL) asked the STF to rule urgently on the challenges before 23:59 on 5 October 2026, when the effects of MP 1.394 are set to take effect. The group says the ban will have a financial impact on Brazilian sport as a whole; between January 2025 and July 2026, bets allocated R$ 437,9 milhões to various sports entities.