First judicial crack in the closure of betting in Brazil: Stake maintains its license until October 25

Federal Judge Cristiane Farias Rodrigues dos Santos, of the 9th Federal Civil Court of São Paulo, has provisionally authorized Stake Brazil Ltda. to maintain its fixed-odds betting activity in Brazil until October 25, 2026. It is the date on which Provisional Measure1.394/2026 extinguishes all current authorizations. The decision was signed on October 8.

Provisional Measure 1.394/2026 is a regulation with the status of law that the Brazilian government approved on September 25, similar to a Spanish royal decree-law. It prohibits the exploitation, offer and advertising of fixed-odds betting, requires the withdrawal of platforms in ten days and declares licenses extinguished in thirty. Infoplay has already reported that Brazil has entered the final phase of the closure of bets.

What Stake asked for and what it got

Stake appealed against the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets of the Ministry of Finance, the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) and the Central Bank of Brazil. Its main request was to continue operating until December 31, 2029, when the authorization it obtained in February 2025 expires. The judge rejected it. Nor did she suspend the effects of the Provisional Measure for Stake, although it will be able to study it again when the authorities present their reports.

It did partially accept the subsidiary petition. Until October 25, or until the court decides otherwise:

• The Stake authorization remains provisionally in force .
• The authorities cannot consider it extinguished before that date.
• The blocking, redirection or deactivation of the stake.bet.br domain and its applications are suspended. The Ministry of Justice had ordered these measures as of October 6.
• The authorities cannot sanction Stake for operating within these limits.

According to the judge, the threat "is not merely hypothetical," because the official letter from the Ministry of Justice already set specific deadlines for the redirection of the domain.

No bonuses or new promotions

The judge warns that this temporary protection "should not allow an unrestricted return to activity as if the Provisional Measure did not exist." That is why it imposes conditions:

• Maintain all identification, age verification, anti-money laundering, responsible gaming and self-exclusion checks, in addition to deposit, loss and session limits.
• It is forbidden to accept bets with money from social and welfare programs, in line with the measures of the Federal Supreme Court.
• Advertising aimed at minors and any new campaign, recruitment bonus or initiative to gain users is prohibited.
• Ensure that bettors can withdraw their balances, and set aside sufficient funds to pay them out.
• It is forbidden to operate with domains or brands not included in the authorization, or to use the decision to provide cover for illegal operators who copy the Stake brand.

The resolution makes it clear that it does not guarantee the activity after October 25, does not declare the Provisional Measure unconstitutional and does not order the return of the payment of the license or compensate the company.

Stake's figures in Brazil

According to the data that the company provided to the court, it paid 30 million reais for the license, contributed 87.8 million reais and has invested about 128.2 million reais. It has 41 employees and, as of September 23, managed 508,084 bettors' accounts. Of these, 224,566 had a balance, with 3.69 million reais available for withdrawal.

Stake also alleged that closing the regulated market does not make demand disappear, but diverts it to illegal platforms. As evidence, it provided complaints about operators fraudulently using its brand, its domain and the seal of the official betting control system.

The judge has given the authorities ten days to present their reports. The case will then go to the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office, the Brazilian prosecutor's office. She has also asked Stake to justify the value of the lawsuit, which she set at only 10,000 reais, because it does not correspond to what is at stake.