Brazil court lets Stake resume betting until 25 October reprieve expires

A federal court in São Paulo has given Stake Brazil a short reprieve from the country's betting ban, while rejecting the operator's main request to keep running until its authorisation was due to expire in December 2029.

Stake Brazil Ltda is the locally licensed arm of the global Stake brand. In a ruling issued on 8 October, Judge Cristiane Farias Rodrigues dos Santos of the 9th Federal Civil Court partially granted an injunction in the company's favour.

What the ruling actually allows

Until 25 October, or until a further court decision, Brazilian authorities may not treat Stake's authorisation as terminated. They also cannot block or redirect the stake.bet.br domain solely because of the measure's early end date, nor sanction the company for operating within the limits set by the ruling. The Stake B2C site was back online on Thursday afternoon, according to a statement from the company.

The judge stopped short of giving Stake everything it asked for. She declined to suspend the measure for a longer period, saying there was not enough certainty to guarantee continuity through to 2029 without first hearing from the relevant authorities. She said the matter could be reassessed once they respond within 10 days, and did not rule on whether the measure itself is constitutional.

Conditions attached to the reprieve

The injunction comes with 12 conditions. Stake must keep its identification, age verification, anti-money laundering, responsible gambling and self-exclusion controls running, and may not launch new promotions, acquisition bonuses or other initiatives aimed at expanding its user base. It must also keep withdrawals open and set aside enough funds to cover player balances.

In a statement, Stake Brazil said it welcomed the decision, describing it as an important signal for all operators working under state authorisation and oversight. The company said the court's recognition that a licence obtained after meeting legal requirements, paying the grant and making significant investments confers a legal position reaffirms legal certainty and stable rules. It added that it has fully complied with the obligations imposed since the measure was published and will continue to do so.

Payments remain the weak point

The court declined to impose direct obligations on private payment institutions, which are not parties to the case. Stake had also asked for orders directed at OneKey and Pay4Fun. The ruling will be sent to them for information purposes only, and copies have gone to the Prize and Betting Secretariat, Anatel, the Central Bank and the Ministry of Justice.

Why the case matters beyond Stake

The judge said Stake holds an administrative authorisation rather than a concession contract, which does not guarantee an unchanged legal regime until 2029. She added that an authorisation which was paid for and backed by specific investments creates an individual legal position that cannot be removed without weighing the public interest against legitimate expectations.

The ruling does not order the return of the BRL 30m (€5.3m) grant Stake reportedly paid for its licence, nor any compensation. The judge said such claims may need a separate legal route to be considered. The decision covers Stake only and relies on the company's own court filings. As Next.io reported, Stake appears to be the only operator to have taken the measure to court on its own so far, and no other licensed operator has obtained equivalent relief, which gives the case an outsized importance for the wider Brazilian market.

The measure behind the dispute

Provisional Measure 1.394/26 was published on 25 September. It bans fixed-odds betting, orders platforms offline within 10 days and ends existing authorisations after 30 days. The judge noted that the 30-day window itself suggests a transition period was intended, which featured in her reasoning for granting partial relief.

According to its court filing, Stake Brazil has 41 employees, paid in BRL 87.8m (€15.7m) in share capital, has invested around BRL 128m (€22.8m), and held 508,084 player wallets as of September.