Justice Luiz Fux of Brazil's Supreme Court (STF) kept in force President Lula's provisional measure banning online betting companies, known in Brazil as "bets". At the same time, he opened the door to a deal: he called a public hearing for November 3, at 10 a.m., with the federal government, betting operators and football clubs, according to his Monday (26) order reported by Folha de S.Paulo and Poder360.
The session will be held in the court's Second Panel room, at the request of the AGU (the federal government's legal office), the plaintiffs challenging the rule and entities admitted as amici curiae. The provisional measure, a type of executive decree that takes effect immediately in Brazil but still needs congressional approval, was issued on September 25. It banned the operation, offering, intermediation and advertising of fixed-odds betting, a category covering sports betting, online casinos and the popular slot game known as "tigrinho". Fux avoided ruling during the election period so the decision would not be read as interference in the race.
The case reached Fux through a request by ANJL (the national games and lotteries association) to strike down the ban. The group wants the R$ 30 million licensing fees paid by companies to operate in the country reinstated, and warns that bettors could migrate to illegal websites. The IBJR (Brazilian Institute for Responsible Gaming) also asked for the measure to be suspended. On the other side, the AGU defends the full ban and argues that the 2023 law regulating the sector is unconstitutional because it fails to protect fundamental goods such as health and human dignity.
In football, the stakes are heavy. Clubs such as Flamengo, Corinthians, São Paulo, Fluminense, Botafogo and Cruzeiro, plus the CBF (the Brazilian football confederation), were summoned because betting sponsors now make up a significant share of their revenue. Fux's tactical read resembles the advantage rule in football: instead of stopping play with an injunction, he lets the ban stand and forces both sides to negotiate in public before the final whistle, which will be the full merits ruling. According to his order, the hearing became urgent because of the measure's deadlines and the economic impacts, seen through the lens of legal certainty.
Sports betting was legalized under Michel Temer but left unregulated under Jair Bolsonaro, a legal vacuum that drew irregular companies into the country. Lula's third government regulated the sector in 2023 and, less than ten days before the first round of the 2026 election, announced the ban on fixed-odds betting. Studies link online betting to household indebtedness: between 2018 and 2025, Brazil's public health system recorded a 140% rise in treatment for pathological gambling. Fux has already signaled his view of the industry, calling betting sites a "new harmful marketing activity" during a trial on gambling criminalization.