Brazil’s federal government has sued 17 licensed fixed-odds betting operators for at least R$1 billion (about $190 million) in collective moral damages, plus reimbursement of treatment costs borne by the Unified Health System (SUS). A day after the filing, a federal judge ordered the government to explain “objectively” how the operators caused those health costs, and gave it 30 days to do so.
The Office of the Attorney General of the Union (AGU) filed the civil action on 28 September at the 6th Federal Court of Pernambuco, under case No. 0074433-17.2026.4.05.8300. It came days after the government issued a Provisional Measure (MP) banning online betting platforms, and days before Brazil’s 4 October general election.
What the AGU is asking for
The suit names 17 companies operating 20 brands: Betano, Bet365, Superbet, Sportingbet, Esportes da Sorte and Onabet, Blaze, Betnacional, Estrelabet, 7K and Cassino, 7Games and Betão, Vaidebet, H2 Bet, Pixbet, Novibet, Bullsbet, Betfair and KTO. All hold authorisations from the Ministry of Finance.
On top of the R$1 billion floor for collective moral damages, the AGU wants the operators to reimburse SUS for treating gambling-related conditions over the past five years and into the future. That amount would be calculated at a later liquidation stage. The AGU also asks the court to void bets placed by people diagnosed with gambling disorder, to order double restitution of the amounts they wagered, and to strike out contract clauses that limit restitution.
The legal argument rests on strict liability under the Civil Code and the Consumer Protection Code (CDC): a company that profits from a risky activity pays for the harm that activity creates. The AGU cites health data estimating that 28 million Brazilians bet online and 10.9 million show problematic gambling patterns.
Judge orders the AGU to show the link
Judge Helio Silvio Ourem Campos signed his ruling on 29 September. He ordered the AGU to amend its initial petition and set out six points the government must clarify within 30 days:
- which health conditions the claim covers and how patients are identified;
- which public expenses are to be reimbursed, whether direct federal spending or federal transfers to states and municipalities;
- the data sources, administrative records and systems used to verify costs;
- how the Population Attributable Fraction method will be applied, with its epidemiological parameters;
- the objective criteria for splitting liability between operators under market share theory;
- the exact period covered, including future damages.
The judge noted that the defendants are regularly authorised by the Ministry of Finance. He also questioned a reference in the petition to tobacco-related diseases. The claim follows the structure of the AGU’s May 2019 suit against cigarette manufacturers, filed at the 1st Federal Court of Porto Alegre against Souza Cruz, Philip Morris and their parent groups. That case also sought SUS treatment costs for the previous five years and into the future, plus collective moral damages.
Licensed under the State’s own rules
Every defendant entered the market through the framework the federal government built. Law 14,790/2023 set the rules for fixed-odds betting, and the Ministry of Finance’s Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA) charged each licence holder a R$30 million grant fee for a five-year authorisation. Licensed operators have generated around R$15.3 billion in taxes since the start of 2025, according to sector figures reported by Gazeta do Povo.
MP 1,394 ends those authorisations. The text anticipates a dispute over the fees and states that grant amounts will not be refunded, because “the termination stems from reasons of public interest.”
Supreme Court challenge to MP 1,394
The Brazilian Institute of Responsible Gaming (IBJR) has petitioned the Supreme Federal Court (STF) for urgent suspension of the MP. Its filing argues that the measure “undermines the vested rights of operators who, in good faith, relied on the State’s regulatory promises.”
The National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL) has also asked the STF to suspend the betting ban MP. The ban was also the main subject for operator chief executives at the SBC Summit Super CEO panel in Lisbon this week.
A refund bill in Congress
In Congress, Federal Deputy Ricardo Abrão (PSDB-RJ) filed PL 5,502/2026 in the Chamber of Deputies on 1 October. The bill would require operators to refund every bettor’s net loss, defined as deposits minus withdrawals, corrected for inflation from the day the money was paid in. The text sets no start date for the bets it covers.
The bill reached the Chamber’s directing board (Mesa) at 11:42 Brasília time. It is a proposal only: it has not been sent to any committee and no processing regime has been set. All 513 Chamber seats are up for vote on 4 October.
Abrão’s justification cites a Ministry of Finance and Central Bank estimate of around R$1.7 billion in balances and prizes owed to more than 22 million bettors. That figure covers money still held in player accounts. PL 5,502 targets money already lost, and the text places the cost on operators and their controllers, not the National Treasury.
What happens next
The AGU has until late October to answer the six questions. Under Brazil’s Code of Civil Procedure, a petition that is not amended as ordered can be rejected before the defendants are even summoned, so the case now depends on whether the government can tie specific SUS costs to specific operators.
MP 1,394 has the force of law from publication, and Congress has 60 days, extendable once by another 60, to approve it or let it lapse. The STF has not yet ruled on the IBJR and ANJL requests. For the 17 defendants, the R$1 billion floor is the fixed part of their exposure. The SUS claim, covering five years back and an undefined period forward, has no ceiling yet.
Source: Office of the Attorney General of the Union (AGU)
