ABERT asks Brazil’s Supreme Court to join challenge to the Bets Law as amicus curiae

The Brazilian Association of Radio and Television Broadcasters (ABERT), which says it represents about 2,500 stations across all 27 states and the Federal District, has asked the Supreme Federal Court (STF) to intervene in ADI No. 7,749 as amicus curiae. For payment and media operators serving betting, the case matters because the dispute is not just about whether betting can be regulated, but who gets to shape the rules on advertising, marketing, and transmission rights.

1. ABERT filed its request on Monday, August 24, to take part in the constitutional challenge to Brazil’s so-called Bets Law, which is ADI No. 7,749. The action was brought by the Prosecutor-General and seeks to have Law No. 14,790/2023 declared unconstitutional. That law regulates fixed-odds betting in Brazil.
2. The association’s argument is straightforward: the challenged law directly regulates “communication, advertising and marketing” activities of betting platforms, which ABERT says sit at the center of what its member broadcasters do. In other words, this is not a side issue for them; it is the revenue layer.
3. The Prosecutor-General is asking the court to strike down almost the entire Law No. 14,790/2023, keeping only a few specific provisions intact. The request also covers parts of Law No. 13,756/2018 and a set of ordinances issued by the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting of the Ministry of Finance (SPA/MF). In the filing, the Prosecutor-General argues that the regulatory framework is insufficient to protect consumer fundamental rights and the national economy, citing the “predatory nature that the virtual betting market displays.”
4. As an interim measure, the Prosecutor-General asked for the suspension of the challenged rules and for Brazil to return to the prior legal regime, under which the activity would be unlawful again: articles 50 to 58 of Decree-Law No. 3,688/1941, the Penal Contraventions Law. The case was assigned by connection to Justice Luiz Fux, who is also rapporteur for ADI No. 7,640, ADI No. 7,721 and ADI No. 7,723.
5. The Federal Senate has already filed its position. It asked for the case to be dismissed at the filing stage for procedural defects and, on the merits, for the request to be denied; that is, it wants Law No. 14,790/2023 and the contested parts of Law No. 13,756/2018 upheld as constitutional.

ABERT says its thematic interest is direct because articles 16 to 18 of the Bets Law, together with SPA/MF Ordinance No. 1,231/2024, regulate core parts of betting advertising. The law bans, among other things, unsupported claims about winning probabilities, presenting betting as “socially attractive,” suggesting gambling can replace employment or serve as a source of income, and promoting sports betting to minors. The ordinance adds responsible gaming policy, consumer-awareness duties, and specific protections for children and adolescents.

One more provision matters for operators and media-rights holders alike: the law also bars betting operators from acquiring, licensing, or financing broadcast rights for sports events held in Brazil. That is the sort of clause that tends to look technical on paper and turns into a commercial problem in practice.