Brazil federal government prepares legal defense against betting ban lawsuits

The Brazilian federal government is preparing a legal defense against possible lawsuits from sports betting operators after the ban on bets in Brazil. For high-risk PSPs, the key point is the legal framing: the government says the operating permission is an authorization, not a concession.

1. The government’s legal team argues that the permission granted to operators is an authorization, which is an unilateral administrative act issued without a tender and can be revoked at any time.
2. That matters because a concession would be a bilateral contract for delegating a public service, and revoking it would be much more complicated.
3. According to SBT News, Carlos Lima, president of the Instituto Brasileiro do Jogo Responsável, said he intends to take legal action against the betting ban in the country.
4. Government legal sources also say it will not be necessary to refund the fees paid by companies to obtain the authorization to operate in Brazil, although that assessment will be made case by case.
5. To recover the fee paid for the authorization, betting operators would need to prove they suffered losses, and the government’s view is that this condition was not met.