Pará ruling underscores service provider responsibility in correctly registering lottery wagers, despite denial of moral damages
A court in the Brazilian state of Pará has ordered a lottery outlet in the city of Marabá to refund a customer BR700 (approximately $129) after an error occurred during the registration of a lottery bet intended for the highly anticipated Mega da Virada draw. The decision was handed down by the Civil and Criminal Small Claims Court of the Marabá district, which found that the outlet failed to deliver the service requested by the consumer.
According to court records, the customer had asked to participate in a betting pool specifically for Mega da Virada, a special annual edition of Brazil’s Mega-Sena lottery held on New Year’s Eve. However, the wager was mistakenly registered as a standard Mega-Sena bet, which follows the regular draw format conducted throughout the year by Caixa Econômica Federal, the state-owned bank that operates the lottery.
Mega da Virada differs significantly from regular Mega-Sena draws due to its substantially larger prize pool and its unique rule that the jackpot does not roll over. If no ticket matches all six numbers, the prize is distributed among lower-tier winners. These characteristics make Mega da Virada one of Brazil’s most popular and heavily played lottery events, attracting millions of participants annually.
The customer reportedly identified the registration error while still present at the lottery outlet and immediately requested a refund at two separate service counters. Both requests were denied. In its defense, the lottery shop argued that the responsibility for the mistake lay with the customer and that there was no failure in service provision that would justify reimbursement.
The court rejected this argument, emphasizing that lottery outlets, as service providers, bear responsibility for ensuring that bets are correctly registered, particularly when different lottery modalities are involved. The judge noted that the outlet failed to provide adequate evidence demonstrating that the service had been properly executed or that the error was solely attributable to the customer’s actions.
The court further determined that the combination of incorrect bet registration and the refusal to issue a refund constituted a clear service defect under consumer protection principles. While the judge denied the customer’s claim for moral damages, citing insufficient grounds, the ruling ordered the lottery outlet to reimburse the full BR700 wager. The refund is to be paid with monetary correction and applicable interest.
The decision remains subject to appeal, but it reinforces judicial expectations that lottery retailers exercise due diligence and accuracy when handling consumer wagers, particularly for high-profile lottery events such as Mega da Virada.
