Brazilian mayors file ADI 8028 at the Supreme Federal Court to suspend MP 1.394/2026 banning fixed-odds betting

The National Association of Mayors and Deputy Mayors (ANPV) has asked Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court to suspend Medida Provisória nº 1.394/2026, which would ban fixed-odds betting in the country. For PSPs and operators, the issue is not just the ban itself but the calendar: the measure sets deadlines that could force a sector shutdown before Congress even gets to vote.

1. ANPV filed Ação Direta de Inconstitucionalidade ADI 8028 on Tuesday (29/9), with an urgent injunction request, arguing that the MP is unconstitutional both formally and materially. The petition was signed by Alessandra Martins Gonçalves Jirardi, the association’s lawyer, and the case has not yet been assigned to a rapporteur.
2. The executive timeline is the part that matters most operationally. Under the MP, bettors must withdraw balances and advertising and sponsorship signs must be removed by 5 October 2026; from 6 October, authorized platforms must be unavailable; and on 25 October, all authorizations are to expire. ANPV says this dismantles the market weeks before Congress begins its urgency review on 9 November 2026, with deliberation running until 23 November.
3. ANPV’s core constitutional argument is that the MP lacks the urgency required by article 62 of Brazil’s Constitution. The filing also points to what it calls a contradiction in state action: on 28 August 2026, the Ministry of Finance was still regulating a priority authorization procedure for the 2027 Women’s World Cup, and on 10 and 11 September, the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting issued acts to repress illegal transactions and regulate lottery modalities.
4. The association also challenges the MP on formal grounds, saying article 62, § 1º, II of the Constitution bars provisional measures on detention or seizure of assets and financial resources. In ANPV’s reading, the MP would force segregation and immobilization of funds in operators’ transactional accounts, require transfers to an account at Caixa Econômica Federal, and allow administrative forfeiture of assets in favor of the Union without prior judicial proceedings.
5. On the material side, the action disputes whether the federal government can extend the prohibition to states and the Federal District. The filing says articles 2 and 26 of the MP are incompatible with the constitutional framework, though the text provided cuts off before the full argument is set out.