The Federal Court of São Paulo has issued a partial injunction to Stake, the online betting platform, permitting it to operate in Brazil until October 25.
This ruling came from Federal Judge Cristiane Farias Rodrigues dos Santos of the 9th Federal Civil Court. The case was brought forward by the law firm Bichara e Motta, which sought to suspend Provisional Measure 1.394, and requested that Stake be allowed to continue operations until December 31, 2029, coinciding with the expiration of its operating license.
While the judge granted the request to some extent, she limited Stake's operation to the October 25 deadline. As part of this decision, the judge ordered the unblocking of Stake’s website, enabling the company to resume its activities.
With this injunction, authorities are instructed not to consider Stake’s authorization as terminated, thus halting the blocking of its platform. This ruling also suspends actions involving the government’s website designed to inform bettors about the cessation of gambling services.
This development follows Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's recent ban on online gambling, enforced through a provisional measure in late September. Prior to this court decision, leading gambling trade organizations in Brazil had appealed to the Supreme Federal Court to annul Lula’s ban, although the timeline for a ruling remains uncertain.
The court's temporary allowance for Stake’s operations aligns with the expiration date for operators' licenses specified in the provisional measure. Judge Cristiane Farias pointed out that if the authorization were entirely void from the moment the provisional measure was published, there would be no rationale for determining a specific later termination date.
In terms of operational conditions, the Federal Court laid down 12 requirements for Stake:
– Prohibit gambling by individuals barred by law or government programs;
– Forbid using funds from social programs for betting;
– Ensure mechanisms for identifying bettors are in place;
– Ban advertising targeted at children and teenagers;
– Restrict new promotional initiatives meant to grow the user base;
– Maintain the ability for bettors to withdraw their balances;
– Ensure sufficient funds are available for outstanding balances;
– Keep thorough financial, transactional, and registration records;
– Comply with regulatory reporting requirements;
– Avoid operating through unauthorized domains;
– Ensure the court ruling isn’t leveraged to legitimize illicit operators or misuse the Stake brand;
– Maintain measures to combat fraud and unauthorized activity.
Bichara e Motta highlighted the significance of the ruling for the fixed-odds betting sector, stating that this marks the first favorable outcome for a fixed-odds betting operator regarding the legal implications of Provisional Measure No. 1,394/2026. However, they noted that the request for ongoing operations pending the license's original expiration is still subject to further legal evaluation.
