Stake loses its temporary lifeline in Brazil after one day

Online casino Stake has lost the brief injunction that let it keep operating in Brazil until October 25, after a federal appeals court suspended the lower court ruling on October 9. For high-risk operators, the point is simple: in Brazil, one court order can buy you a day, but not necessarily a runway.

1. On Friday, October 9, the Federal Regional Court of the 3rd Region overturned an injunction issued a day earlier by São Paulo’s 9th Federal Civil Court. That earlier order had temporarily stopped authorities from revoking Stake’s license and blocking its platform, despite the federal government’s nationwide gambling ban.
2. The Attorney General’s office argued that letting Stake stay live while other operators were shut out would create an unfair market advantage. The appeals court accepted that logic, saying the injunction could create regulatory inequality, lead to inconsistent enforcement of government policy, and encourage other gambling operators to go to court for the same treatment.
3. The court did not rule on the substance of Stake’s lawsuit or on whether President Lula’s provisional measure is constitutional. It only addressed the effect of keeping one operator active while competitors remain banned. That leaves Stake in the same position as the rest of the sector: blocked, for now.
4. The dispute started after Lula’s September provisional measure banned all forms of fixed-odds gambling. The measure forced companies to shut down, including local operators that had been active in Brazil for years. Stake challenged the measure to preserve its business and keep its federal gambling license, but the temporary reprieve did not survive the appeal.
5. Brazil’s legal gambling market is still in limbo. The Attorney General’s office has asked Supreme Federal Tribunal Justice Luiz Fux to reject the legal challenges to the ban and deny operators’ compensation requests. Congress is also scheduled to review the provisional measure, but the legislative timetable means the matter could remain unresolved until 2027.

For PSPs, acquirers, and banking partners, the practical lesson is not subtle: Brazil is not currently a market where a single favorable ruling is enough to re-open a closed payment flow. Until the provisional measure is resolved, operator access remains a legal question, not a commercial one.