Maia: Brazil’s betting ban hands 30m bettors to crime gangs

The Attorney General is also seeking R$3.6bn in damages & health system reimbursement from operators.

The hit

Brazilian lawyer Luiz Felipe Maia says the betting ban ordered by president Lula will be overturned by Congress & the courts, according to iGaming Business. Maia, of Maia Yoshiyasu Advogados, called the ban politically motivated & said licensed operators acted within the law.

Why it matters

If Maia is right, operators who paid for licences under the Secretariat of Prizes & Bets regime could resume trading, & the compensation claims against them could collapse. Maia warns the ban risks pushing bettors to the illegal market.

The record

Ban announced	Late September, by president Lula (Luiz Felipe Maia)
Annual revenue loss projected	R$15bn / $2.99bn (Luiz Felipe Maia)
Attorney General’s damages claim	R$1bn for collective moral damages, per iGB
Attorney General’s health reimbursement claim	R$2.6bn to Brazil’s public health system, SUS (Luiz Felipe Maia)
Licence cost cited	R$30m paid per operator (Luiz Felipe Maia)

What happens next

Watch for rulings from Brazil’s Judiciary on the Attorney General’s compensation claim & for Congress to act on the provisional measure Maia says lacked a fiscal impact study.

Sources: Luiz Felipe Maia: The ban on betting creates distrust towards Brazil

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