TLDR Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court resumed hearing Extraordinary Appeal 966177, a case on the legal status of gambling The case will decide if a 1941 misdemeanor law criminalizing gambling still applies under the 1988 Constitution Justice Luiz Fux, the case’s rapporteur, said he supports keeping penalties on gambling exploitation Prosecutor General Paulo Gonet backed maintaining fines and penalties against people who bet Around 2,700 pending cases across Brazil could be affected by the final ruling
Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court has resumed work on a case that could shape the future of gambling law in the country. The case, known as Extraordinary Appeal 966177, was paused earlier in the week when Justice Luiz Fux began reading his opinion as rapporteur.
The dispute centers on an appeal from the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Rio Grande do Sul. Prosecutors challenged state court rulings that blocked them from applying a 1941 misdemeanor law to certain gambling cases.
At the heart of the matter is a single legal question. Judges must decide whether Article 50 of the Criminal Misdemeanors Law, written in 1941, still holds up against Brazil’s 1988 Federal Constitution.
Fux Voices Support for Keeping Penalties
During his opinion, Fux said he remains open to continuing to treat gambling exploitation as a crime. He raised concerns about the growth of gambling activity, including online betting.
Fux made clear the case is not about gambling itself. Instead, it focuses on the exploitation of gambling as a business.
He also stressed the role lawmakers play in deciding whether older legislation still fits modern circumstances. “I would like to know where they got the idea that the Constitution did not uphold the Criminal Misdemeanors Law?” Fux asked during the session.
He pointed out that arguments in the case referenced how gambling has changed. Traditional