ANJL and IBJR ask Brazil’s Supreme Court to suspend the betting ban until an AGU public hearing

The ANJL and the IBJR have filed an urgent petition in ADI 7721 asking Justice Luiz Fux to suspend Medida Provisória nº 1.394/2026 until the new public hearing requested by the Attorney General’s Office (AGU) is held. For high-risk operators, the key point is simple: once a regulator says the file needs more instruction, the industry will use that admission to argue the market should not be shut before the hearing happens.

1. The petition was filed on Tuesday (6) and says the case should be decided by a single justice first, then reviewed by the full bench. As a fallback, if the suspension is denied, ANJL and IBJR want the transition to prohibition to begin on 31 December 2026, with authorized operations kept alive until then and the MP deadlines counted from 1 January 2027.
2. The associations are building their argument around the government’s own filing. They say that if the Union itself believes the issue needs further instruction, the logical step is to preserve the subject of that instruction while it happens. Their line is that holding a hearing about a regulated market that has already been extinguished, with revoked authorizations, terminated contracts, and bettors dispersed, would amount to debating a fait accompli.
3. They also point to a separate representation submitted on 28 September by Lucas Rocha Furtado, deputy prosecutor-general at the Ministério Público junto ao Tribunal de Contas da União. He said he opposes betting, but still described the MP timetable as “exíguo e draconiano” and said he sees “inconstitucionalidade e ilegalidade na medida.”
4. According to the petition, that same representation notes that issuing the MP nine days before the first round “raises serious questions about its real motivation.” The associations add that, on the eve of the MP’s issuance, the Ministry of Finance replied to an information request saying there were no studies on the impact of the ban.
5. The operational picture matters even more than the legal theory. Since 0h01 on Tuesday, all traffic from authorized platforms — about 100 million daily accesses — has been redirected to brasilsembets.gov.br. Social media accounts of the operators were blocked overnight, which the associations say goes beyond what the MP requires and cuts off the communication channel with bettors.

They also say the shutdown happened before individual balances were reconciled. In the government tally cited in the filing, R$ 1,453 billion remained to be recovered, across 28,65 million CPFs. Valid bets still awaiting results were voided, with the stake returned but no prize paid.

The associations further cite admissions by the Union that there is a coexistence of “market regulated and clandestine market of equivalent dimensions,” and that the risk of migration “requires consideration.” For PSPs and banks, that is the part to watch: when a regulated channel is removed before balances, communications, and transition mechanics are settled, the alternative market does not politely wait on the curb.