ANJL and IBJR ask Brazil’s STF to suspend MP banning sports betting

The Associação Nacional de Jogos e Loterias (ANJL) and the Instituto Brasileiro de Jogo Responsável (IBJR) have asked Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court (STF) to suspend Medida Provisória 1.394, which bans sports betting and online games in Brazil. For PSPs, the practical issue is immediate: the decree cuts off payment processing, forces site and app takedowns, and gives operators a very short runway.

1. On Monday (28/9), the two industry groups filed the request with Minister Luiz Fux, who is already the rapporteur for pending STF cases on the constitutionality of Brazil’s betting framework.
2. Their core argument is timing. They say the measure creates immediate and irreversible effects before Congress has even reviewed it. Under the text published on Friday (25/9), existing authorizations are extinguished, sites and apps must be removed within 10 days, and operations must end within 30 days.
3. From the moment of publication, financial institutions are prohibited from processing transactions destined for betting, and no new funds can be deposited into bettors’ accounts. That is the part payment teams notice first: if you touch the money flow, the market stops looking theoretical very quickly.
4. ANJL and IBJR asked Fux to suspend the MP in full while Congress completes its review, whether by converting it into law, rejecting it, or letting it lapse, or until the STF decides the merits of a new action ANJL plans to file specifically against the measure.
5. If Fux does not grant the main request, the associations proposed two fallback options: suspend the MP at least for companies with current authorization from the Secretaria de Prêmios e Apostas, or give operators a minimum six-month wind-down period instead of the government’s timetable.

Under that alternative setup, each operator would need to submit a discontinuation plan to the Secretaria de Prêmios e Apostas and could keep operating during the transition period. ANJL and IBJR also want bettor balance withdrawals preserved and, during that interval, sanctions, account freezes, and forfeiture measures suspended.