Brazilian lotteries: the government seeks to impose limits

The growth of new state lotteries in Brazil has not been welcomed by the federal government, which fears the impact on nationwide lotteries.

Brazil.- The federal government wants Brazil’s new state lotteries, which have begun to be legalised in various states, to be subject to limits in order to help prevent them from taking custom from federal entities.

The Ministry of Economy’s Department of Evaluation, Planning, Energy and Lottery (Secap-ME) is preparing an ordinance to be published at the end of the month that would limit bets in the recently permitted state lottery sector.

The ordinance’s main objective is that the new state-level lotteries in Brazil do not eat into federal lottery revenues, which range from US$738m to US$1.845m.

Secap-ME originally wanted to limit state lotteries by prohibiting them from marketing online. That option was rejected by the Attorney General’s Office leaving the department to seek an alternative, preventing them from selling across state borders.

Waldir Eustáquio Marques Jr, head of Secap-ME, said: “We cannot prevent states from operating online, but we can set limits. It was our intention, but unfortunately we can’t prohibit it. [The states] are in control. They can sell through the internet, but they can’t cross the borders of their territories.”