São Paulo court lets Stake stay live in Brazil until 25 October
A federal judge has granted Stake a temporary injunction against Brazil's gambling ban, in what the operator calls the first ruling of its kind since President Lula's decree.
Stake has secured a preliminary injunction from the Federal Court of São Paulo allowing its Brazil website to remain operational until 25 October, SBC News reports.
Judge Cristiane Farias Rodrigues dos Santos issued the ruling, which sets a precedent within the timeline created by President Lula da Silva's gambling ban.
The decree, enforced by Lula on 25 September, banned all forms of gambling in Brazil overnight and gave operators until 6 October to wind down their presence in the country, including online.
Congress and the Supreme Court have yet to review the measure, having reserved the right to act once the current presidential election cycle concludes on 25 October.
The decree has opened a rift between government and industry. Brazil's Attorney General Office and the Federal Prosecution Office have backed Lula's move as being in the public interest.
Licensed operators and trade bodies are contesting it, arguing it breaches the constitutional right to conduct business and undermines legal certainty granted to licensees who paid a R$30m (£4.5m) fee for five-year operating licences.
According to SBC Noticias, Judge Santos found that the decree contains two separate deadlines that must be read individually: the 10-day window to scale back digital operations, and a separate clause suspending all licences one month after enforcement.
Santos concluded that the one-month clause shows the government itself acknowledged the need for a transition period, and ruled that Stake is entitled to use it in full, subject to strict conditions.
Under the injunction, Stake must keep its anti-money laundering, self-exclusion, age verification and responsible gambling systems running until its site goes offline. It cannot onboard new customers, offer sign-up bonuses or produce new marketing material in the meantime, and must keep withdrawals, refunds and regulatory reporting unobstructed.
Stake told SBC News it "positively receives the decision of the Federal Court of São Paulo, which provisionally preserved the effects of its authorisation for the exploration of fixed-odds betting."
The operator said the ruling "represents an important signal for Stake Brasil and for all those who operate under state authorisation and supervision," adding that the court had reaffirmed "the importance of legal certainty and the stability of rules" by recognising that a licence obtained through fulfilling legal requirements and paying the grant fee carries a legal status that cannot be withdrawn without due process.
Stake added that it has complied fully with its obligations since the provisional measure was published and "will continue to do so, in relation to the Provisional Measure and the determinations of the Judiciary, remaining at the disposal of the authorities."
The company said it believes it is "the first licensed operator to get a decision of this kind," a claim that positions the case as a test of how far Brazil's courts will go in reviewing the legality of Lula's ban ahead of the broader Congressional and Supreme Court scrutiny expected after 25 October.