Rio de Janeiro Prosecutors Challenge Decree Allowing Electronic Betting Terminals

The Public Prosecutor’s Office of Rio de Janeiro (MPRJ) has brought an action to the Court of Justice of Rio de Janeiro (TJ–RJ), demanding recognition of the unconstitutionality of State Decree No. 49.804/25 authorizing electronic betting on devices located in various commercial establishments across the state.

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This litigation was initiated at the initiative of former Attorney General Antonio José Campos Moreira. As noted by prosecutors, the decree authorized the establishment of terminals used for electronic betting, such as video lottery terminals (VLTs), betting kiosks, and smart POS devices in stores, sports bars, and other enterprises providing fixed-odds betting.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office considered that the state government adopted a system of lottery exploitation in a form not provided by the provisions of Brazil’s federal gambling legislation.

Argumentation Presented By Prosecutors

As noted above, the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Rio de Janeiro has argued the constitutional nature of the state regulation of gambling at issue.

More precisely, as prosecutors stated, according to Brazilian gambling laws, only fixed-odds betting could be legalized. However, this type of gambling activity was subject to strict regulation; in particular, it could be carried out only within a certain framework, including casinos and other regulated environments.

Therefore, the state authorities exceeded the regulatory scope allocated for them by allowing bets to be made through physical electronic terminals. Consequently, the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Rio de Janeiro has asked the court to find the state regulation at issue unconstitutional and suspend its validity.

VLT Regulation Caused Opposition Even Within Rio Municipality

Notably, apart from the above litigation, the regulation of video lottery terminals led to some conflicts even at the level of the Rio de Janeiro municipality.

Thus, in September 2025, when Cláudio Castro still headed the state, the Municipal Secretariat of Public Order (Seop) canceled the operating permit provided to the company To All Games Operações Lotéricas that planned to introduce betting terminals at the Tribuna A site of the Jockey Club Brasileiro in Gávea Hippodrome.

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It should be noted that the application for permission had been filed before Mayor Eduardo Paes expressed his disagreement with the installation of betting terminals on the territory of the Rio municipality.

A few days later, acting mayor Eduardo Cavaliere excluded betting kiosks and gambling devices from the list of activities licensed by the municipality.

Special Regulations Were Adopted for VLT Operations

The state decree regulating the activity of VLT operators established several conditions, the compliance with which would distinguish VLTs from traditional slot machines.

More precisely, according to the decree, all operations carried out using betting terminals would have to be performed via a Pix transaction, while it was required to identify the client by CPF number (for Brazilian citizens) or passport number (for foreigners). Cash payments were prohibited.

Such measures should have made certain differences between VLTs and slots, thereby positioning them as a legal gambling activity.

However, despite this, VLTs have never entered into actual operation due to the ongoing certification process proving the technical differences between VLTs and traditional gambling machines.

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Source: iGaming Brasil