Stake’s reason to celebrate its provisional permission to operate in Brazil until 25 October has become short-lived after an appeal led to the decision being shot down by the Federal Court.
Last week, Stake became the only licensed operator in Brazil to be permitted to remain operational until 25 October.
The permission was granted by Judge Rodrigues dos Santos of the 9th Federal Civil Court of São Paulo.
With some pointing out that Stake had become a de-facto national monopolist following the ruling, it raised the question of whether other licensed operators would follow suit in appealing President’s Lula order to ban all types of gambling, which came into force on 25 September.
And while they still might, and are likely already doing so, achieving what Stake managed to do is now most certainly out of reach, given that Stake itself has now lost that right.
Judge Di Salvo of the Federal Regional Court overseeing the actions of the court that granted Stake the preliminary provision has now suspended that same injunction.
“The circumstance that only one company remains authorised to regularly exercise economic activity while the others submit to the restrictions established by the Public Power shows regulatory asymmetry capable of affecting the execution of the public policy implemented, characterising risk to the administrative order,” the decision noted.
Battle lines drawn
It is not completely out of line to assume that there was a formal complaint filed with the Federal Court over the decision to allow Stake to remain operational.
Likely culprits would have been the Attorney General Office (AGU) and the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office (PGR), which have stood firmly behind President Lula’s decree to ban gambling.
Standing in opposition is the licensed gambling sector – which has invested millions of dollars into compliance since being allowed to enter Brazil in 2024, while many companies hold five-year licences from the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA) regulator.
The National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL) and the Brazilian Institute of Responsible Gambling (IBJR) are the two biggest trade bodies in the country, representing the majority of licensed operators.
They have argued that Lula’s disbandment of the same regulated regime he signed into law two years ago has trampled on Brazil’s legislative framework, which had guaranteed them multi-year licenses and market access.
The final say on whether the gambling prohibition remains lies with Brazil’s National Congress – and, ultimately, the Supreme Court. Both institutions have retained the right to deliberate after the current Presidential election cycle concludes on 25 October.
