Abratel asks Brazil’s Supreme Court to join case against Rio Grande do Sul betting ad restrictions

The Brazilian Association of Radio and Television (Abratel) has asked the Supremo Tribunal Federal (STF) to enter ADI 7.971 as amicus curiae, in a challenge to a Rio Grande do Sul law that limits how fixed-odds betting platforms can advertise. For PSPs and merchants in high-risk verticals, the interesting part is not the court jargon; it is the familiar fight over who gets to regulate ad placement, and how far a state can push rules that spill beyond its borders.

1. On Thursday, 21 August, Abratel filed the petition in ADI 7.971, which was brought by the Associação Nacional de Jogos e Loterias (ANJL) against the governor and the Legislative Assembly of Rio Grande do Sul. The target is State Law No. 16.508, signed on 24 April 2026, which regulates and restricts advertising for fixed-odds betting platforms in the state.
2. The law has a 120-day vacatio legis (delayed entry into force), ending on 25 August 2026. That timing is why ANJL asked for interim relief: it wants the STF to suspend the law in full before the grace period expires, or, alternatively, to suspend specific provisions including Articles 3 to 10, Article 11 (items III, IV, V and VI), and Articles 12 to 14.
3. ANJL argues that Rio Grande do Sul went beyond state legislative powers by regulating a subject it says belongs to the federal government. Its position is that betting advertising falls under federal competence over lotteries, commercial advertising, telecommunications, and broadcasting, under Article 22 of the Federal Constitution. It also says the restrictions violate economic-order principles and proportionality, and conflict with STF precedents including General Repercussion Theme No. 987 and ADI No. 2.404.
4. Abratel says it should be admitted because the case directly affects its member broadcasters. The association was founded in Brasília on 11 March 1999 and represents radio and television broadcasters nationwide, including Record, Rede TV, Rede CNT de Televisão, Record News, and Rede Família, with affiliates in almost all Brazilian states.
5. The practical issue is Article 6 of the state law, which bans betting advertising from 6h to 21h on television channels, streaming platforms, video-on-demand services, and radio stations. Abratel argues that the rule does not stay neatly inside Rio Grande do Sul: national broadcasters could be forced to split programming and ad inventory for one state versus Brazil’s other 26 federal units, which is the sort of regulatory fragmentation broadcasters and their advertisers tend to hate on sight.

For high-risk operators, this is another reminder that betting marketing is not just a compliance question for the operator itself. When a state-level rule reaches broadcasters, streaming inventory, and ad scheduling, it can change where campaigns run, how they are segmented, and who is willing to sell the inventory in the first place.