R$300M Lawsuit Filed Against Apple in Brazil Over Casino App Access for Minors

A civil lawsuit filed in Brazil on July 30 seeks R$300 million—approximately $59 million—in moral damages from Apple over the availability of casino-style games to minors via the App Store. The plaintiffs are the National Association of Centers for the Defense of Children and Adolescents (Anced), Educafro Brasil, and the Santo Dias Center for Human Rights.

Allegations over age verification failures

The suit names “Casino Roulette: Roulettist” as a central example: though listed as restricted to users aged 18 or older, the app required no proof of age, document verification, or facial recognition to access its content. It offers poker, baccarat, roulette, and slot games, with in-app purchases priced up to R$599.90 ($118).

Anced’s legal representative stated that at least six other apps simulating casino environments remain accessible to minors despite carrying an 18+ age rating. The lawsuit demands Apple implement an effective age-verification system for all casino games distributed through its App Store.

Court-mandated compliance timeline

Plaintiffs also request that Apple block new casino-style apps unless they include verified age checks, maintain continuous oversight of existing titles, and submit biannual enforcement reports to the court. Should Apple fail to comply within 10 days of the ruling, the groups seek a daily fine of R$500,000 ($98,000).

This legal action follows a formal inquiry launched three months earlier by Brazil’s National Secretariat for Digital Rights and National Consumer Secretariat, which questioned both Apple and Google about betting apps allegedly accessible to children. Last month, Brazilian authorities gave Apple five business days to detail its gambling-app verification procedures, App Store monitoring practices, and safeguards against minor access to age-restricted content.

Apple’s response and ongoing testing

When contacted by Tilt, Apple directed reporters to parental controls available through Family Sharing and confirmed it is currently testing an age-verification system in Brazil. The company stated the system is expected to become available to all users “through a software update in the coming months.”

The lawsuit stems from findings reported by 9to5Mac, which identified approximately 100 apps disguising gambling platforms as benign games or utilities to bypass App Store review protocols. The report was published shortly after the initial government inquiry and preceded the filing of the civil action.