A federal court in São Paulo has granted Stake partial relief, allowing the operator to resume business in Brazil until October 25. The ruling requires authorities to unblock the company's website and bars them from treating its licence as revoked during that period. It is the first favourable court decision for a sports betting operator in the dispute over provisional decree 1.394/2026, through which President Luís Inácio Lula da Silva banned online gambling in late September.
What Stake won
Law firm Bichara e Motta, representing Stake, had requested permission to operate until December 31, 2029 — the expiry date of the licence. Judge Cristiane Farias Rodrigues dos Santos of the 9th Federal Civil Court of São Paulo approved the request only until October 25. That date appears in the decree itself as the deadline for operators' licences to cease. The court ruled that the administration cannot bring it forward.
The return is temporary and subject to 12 conditions. Stake must continue identifying players, blocking bets by individuals on prohibition lists and funds from social programmes, and not displaying advertising to children or adolescents. New promotions and customer-base expansion are prohibited. The company must ensure withdrawals, maintain sufficient liquidity to cover player balances, report to the regulator and operate only on authorised domains. Separate clauses address fraud protection and illegal use of the brand.
What happens next
The ruling does not overturn Lula's decree or resolve the question of its legality. Two large industry associations have petitioned the Supreme Federal Court to strike down the ban — timelines for hearings are unknown. Stake's authorisation does not extend to other operators automatically. The company's operation beyond October 25 depends on a full hearing of the case and on the outcome of the broader challenge to the provisional decree.
