Brazilian court crushes Stake’s injunction after a day

The president of Brazil’s Regional Federal Court of the 3rd Region (TRF3) has suspended an injunction that allowed Stake to keep running in the country after the online gambling shutdown. Judge Johonsom Di Salvo granted a request from the Union, citing “serious harm to public order” and a risk of a multiplier effect. The injunction was granted on Thursday by federal judge Cristiane Farias Rodrigues dos Santos of the 9th Federal Civil Court of São Paulo and lasted only one day. In its petition to the TRF3, the Union argued that the injunction overrode, in favor of a single operator, the effects of a nationwide public policy. It alleged regulatory asymmetry, undue advantage to the company and a risk that other operators would file similar lawsuits. Di Salvo fully accepted the Union’s position. He said the Provisional Measure was designed to apply uniformly to all operators in the sector. He wrote that the prohibition prioritizes protecting consumers and gamblers. The ruling does not answer to the main point made by the first-instance court, which is that Provisional Measure provides for 30 days period for cancellation of the authorization, a process that the Administration cannot predict. Nor does it examine the 12 conditions imposed on Stake to neutralize “reverse danger” to bettors. The multiplier effect is treated as potential, with no indication of other actions under way. What happens next Now that the injunction is no longer effective, stake.bet.br can be redirected to the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, as specified in the Provisional Measure’s effects. The president of TRF3 has requested that the lower court be informed immediately. The case remains in the 9th Court, where relevant data is expected to be received from the authorities concerned (SPA/MF, Anatel, and Central Bank) and the Federal Public Prosecutor will give its opinion afterwards. An appeal against the decision of the Presidency can be made to the extended composition of TRF3.