Brazil's AGU requests 72 hours to answer betting ban lawsuit
Brazil's attorney general's office has asked the Supreme Federal Court for three days to respond before judges weigh a challenge to President Lula's provisional measure banning betting.
Brazil's attorney general's office (AGU) has asked Supreme Federal Court (STF) Minister Luiz Fux for a 72-hour window to respond to a legal challenge filed against the government's new betting ban, according to iGaming Business.
The request, lodged on Monday, follows a lawsuit brought by betting industry bodies seeking to overturn the provisional measure that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced on Friday.
The AGU said the time was needed so that the bodies responsible for defending the contested rules could present their case to the STF before any ruling on the industry's submissions.
In its statement, the attorney general's office said it had asked the court "to comment on the requests submitted by the National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL) and the Brazilian Institute of Responsible Gaming (IBJR)" in the ongoing proceedings over fixed-odds betting rules.
The office stressed that the request is procedural and takes no position on the substance of the dispute.
ANJL and IBJR are seeking to have the effects of the measure suspended altogether.
They also want the Ministries of Finance and Justice, telecoms regulator Anatel, the Central Bank, state-owned bank Caixa Econômica Federal and the Internet Steering Committee barred from revoking licences, blocking payments or taking down betting websites and apps while the case proceeds.
The two associations argue the provisional measure is unconstitutional, pointing to what they say is a lack of demonstrated urgency, an absence of technical impact studies, and a risk of damaging confidence in Brazil's business environment.
Their lawsuit notes that 85 companies hold betting licences in Brazil, each having paid BRL30 million ($5.7 million) for its concession.
If the measure stands, the associations warn, the government could face claims to refund those sums, which together total roughly BRL2.5 billion.
The AGU's statement said the attorney general of the Union and the presidency had been asked to be heard within 72 hours before the Supreme Federal Court takes up the entities' requests.