Brazil Supreme Court Halts Lower Court Actions Over Federal Online Gambling Ban
Minister Luiz Fux has frozen all regional lawsuits challenging the provisional measure banning online casino gaming and sports betting to prevent conflicting judicial rulings.
- Supreme Court Minister Luiz Fux granted an Attorney General petition suspending lower court lawsuits against the 25 September Provisional Measure.
- The intervention followed conflicting regional decisions involving CDA Gaming brands and the brief reactivation of operator Stake.
- Brazil's National Congress has a 120-day window to either approve or reject the executive decree outlawing online gambling.
Brazil’s Supreme Court has stepped in to prevent lower courts across the country from deliberating on potential reversals of the federal ban on online gambling and sports betting. The order, issued by Supreme Court Minister Luiz Fux, halts regional legal proceedings seeking to overturn or alter the national prohibitions placed on the igaming sector.
Minister Fux acted on a formal request submitted by the Attorney General to suspend all active lawsuits challenging the federal government's 25 September Provisional Measure. That decree established an outright ban on sports betting and online casino gaming throughout the country. By granting the Attorney General’s application, the Supreme Court has stopped lower judicial benches from issuing separate, contradictory rulings on the legality of the measure.
Risk of legal instability
There is a risk of legal uncertainty due to conflicting decisions, aggravated by the potential legalisation of fixed-odds betting, which is recognized as harmful and of high social risk.
The Supreme Court's ruling followed a three-day public hearing conducted by Minister Fux regarding the 25 September Provisional Measure. The public hearings were held to examine the measure in detail before the court moved to address the wave of regional litigation brought against the federal ban on sports wagering and online gaming.
Conflicting rulings in CDA Gaming case
The decision to halt all lower court actions was triggered directly by ongoing litigation involving CDA Gaming. The company had pursued relief through the regional court network after the implementation of the federal prohibition.
The dispute had already produced opposing outcomes within the judicial system. On Friday, November 6, the Federal Regional Court for the 3rd Region overturned the ban specifically for CDA Gaming's operations. That initial determination cleared the way for the group’s websites—Casa de Apostas, Betsul, and Jogo Online—to resume activity.
However, that reversal did not stand. Federal judge Luís Antonio Johonsom di Salvo subsequently overturned the decision regarding CDA Gaming, reinstating the prohibition on its operations. The legal instability extended to other market operators as well, with Stake briefly going back online before stopping its operations once more.
Trade body lawsuits and legislative clock
The Supreme Court's nationwide suspension comes as gambling industry trade bodies mount formal resistance to the federal policy. Trade associations have submitted their own legal challenge against the 25 September Provisional Measure, seeking to contest the statutory basis of the prohibition.
While regional legal challenges are now frozen by the Supreme Court, the future of the ban remains tied to parliamentary procedure. The National Congress has a statutory period of 120 days to formally evaluate the 25 September Provisional Measure, during which lawmakers must vote to either approve or reject the prohibition on sports betting and online casino operations.
