The Rio de Janeiro State Lottery (Loterj) said on Wednesday that it will continue to defend in court its autonomy, guaranteed in the Federal Constitution and endorsed by the Federal Supreme Court (STF), to grant a licence for betting sites to operate in Rio de Janeiro.

This means that Loterj will appeal last Monday's decision by Judge Pablo Zuniga Dourado, of the Federal Regional Court of the 1st Region (TRF1), which allowed online bookmakers, popularly known as "bets", to operate in Rio de Janeiro without a licence, thus violating state decree number 48.806/2023.

According to Loterj, the TRF1 magistrate's decision does not alter the need for state authorisation to exploit the market for "bets", as determined by the RJ state decree.

"The idea that lottery services can be operated clandestinely by companies often based in tax havens is unconstitutional until federal regulations are finalised. The sovereignty of the states must be preserved, and there are their own regulations for exploiting the lottery market, as is the case in Rio de Janeiro, and they must be complied with," reported Loterj.

Also according to the Rio de Janeiro State Lottery, the adequacy mentioned in the sole paragraph of article 9 of law 14.790/2023 is not a licence for illegitimate exploitation of the market by betting sites.

"It is well known that this activity is known as tax evasion and tax avoidance, and the companies that exploit it are mostly based in tax havens. The 'adequacy' of this article is so that these companies can be regularised. It is not a licence for them to continue operating irregularly, on the fringes of any inspection. Therefore, anyone who currently operates this activity without the proper licence is in complete disobedience to the established legal framework," added Loterj, before concluding.

"The RJ government's pioneering role in regulating the betting market is essential for protecting punters, legal certainty, regularising companies and creating jobs," the institution concluded.