Stake to Continue Legal Battle to Restore Bookmakers’ Access to Brazil’s Betting Market

^{Udo Seckelmann, lawyer for betting operator Stake}

Betting operator Stake plans to take further legal action to regain the right to operate in Brazil after a court overturned an earlier ruling in its favour. This was reported by iGaming Business, citing the company’s lawyer, Udo Seckelmann.

On 25 September, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva imposed a ban on licensed betting operators. On 6 October, operators stopped accepting bets and took down their websites and apps.

Stake is the only bookmaker known to have independently challenged the ban in court in an attempt to resume operations in Brazil. The company initially secured a favourable ruling.

On 8 October, a court partially granted Stake’s request, allowing it to continue accepting bets until 25 October.

However, the next day, a higher court suspended the ruling following an appeal by Brazil’s Attorney General’s Office (AGU), which represents the government.

As a result, Stake was barred from operating in the country again.

The company now intends to challenge the reversal. According to Seckelmann, its legal team is considering two possible courses of action, although no further details have been disclosed.

The lawyer stressed that Stake recognises its responsibility to Brazil’s betting industry as a whole. If the company succeeds in court, the ruling could help other bookmakers secure similar authorisations and resume operations.

Stake’s central argument is that licensed operators paid a licence fee of BRL 30 million (approximately $6 million) and met the government’s financial requirements, only to have their operations banned less than two years after their licences took effect.

In parallel, industry associations ANJL and IBJR, which represent licensed operators, are challenging the ban at Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court.