Municipal lotteries are somewhat of a divisive topic on Brazil’s gaming space, but regardless of people’s opinions some jurisdictions are still keen to get in on the business.
It’s easy to understand why. After all, lotteries are valued by governments around the world as a way to supplement state coffers and pump money into social and charitable programmes.
In the state of São Paulo, the Piracicaba City Council is looking to do exactly that, with Law No 10. 357/2025, which will establish a public municipal lottery service in the area.
Another city, Novo Lino in the state of Alagoas, has done the same, with its municipal lottery established earlier in September, although bidding for the 20 year contract to run the lottery is yet to begin.
As outlined above, the cities’ main objective is to raise funds for social causes. Piracicaba expects around R75m (€12m) via the new municipal lottery, as reported by SBC Noticias – Brasil.
Proceeds from the Piracicaba Municipal Lottery will subsequently be funnelled into health, education, security, social assistance, cultural and sports, with the lottery also subject to a 5% service tax on gaming revenue.
Municipal lotteries have emerged in prominence over the past few years in Brazil since a Supreme Court ruling in 2020 stated that the federal government and state governments do not have a monopoly on lottery operations.
With Brazil containing over 5,000 municipalities – similar to a county in the UK or US or a commune in France for context – this opened the door for potentially thousands of new lotteries to be created.
Lotteries and the law
However, as expected not everyone was on board with the Supreme Court’s ruling. The left-leaning Solidariedade party, for example, has directly appealed to the Supreme Court to reverse the 2020 ruling, arguing municipal lotteries are unconstitutional.
State lotteries too are unhappy with the existence of municipal lotteries, largely because of the overlap between state, municipal and federal lottery jurisdictions. Daniel Romanowski, CEO of the Paraná State Lotteries, explained this to SBC Noticias – Brasil.
“It may be that, at some point, a state will waive its right and transfer it to the municipalities,” he said. “But, today, our understanding is that they are illegal.”
State legal authorities have now joined the call for the Supreme Court to turn the tide against municipal lotteries. The Public Prosecutor’s Offices of Santa Catarina and Rondônia have now asked the Supreme Court to participate in a challenge to municipal lotteries, the Fundamental Precept Noncompliance Claim (ADPF) 1212.
The prosecutors aim to present arguments that could influence judgements on municipal lotteries, with their argument being that only the federal government, state governments, and the government of the Federal District, have the right to legislature and operate lotteries.