A Brazilian federal appeals judge has provisionally reinstated CDA Gaming Ltda’s authorisation to offer fixed-odds betting, which had been extinguished by Provisional Measure No. 1.394/2026. Desembargadora Adriana Pileggi, of the 3rd Panel of the Federal Regional Court of the 3rd Region (TRF3), granted the company interim appellate relief (antecipação de tutela recursal) on Tuesday 3 November 2026. CDA Gaming operates the Casa de Apostas, Betsul and Jogo Online brands.
The decision was signed at 2pm in Interlocutory Appeal (Agravo de Instrumento) No. 5034200-15.2026.4.03.0000. Critically for the wider market, it applies exclusively to the appellant: it does not suspend MP 1.394 generally.
According to the ruling, the judge set aside the extinctive effects of Article 4 of MP 1.394 on the authorisation granted by Ordinance (Portaria) SPA/MF No. 255/2025 and, to the extent necessary for compliance, the restrictions of Article 7. The decision also sets aside the effects of Official Letter (Ofício) No. 1256/2026/GAB-SEDIGI/SEDIGI/MJ, issued by the National Secretariat of Digital Rights. Pileggi ordered that CDA Gaming’s electronic domains and the operational, financial and payment services indispensable to its activity be restored.
The relief is interim rather than a decision on the merits. It remains in force until the definitive judgment of the underlying writ of mandamus (mandado de segurança) or a new judicial ruling, with “preservadas as exigências regulatórias aplicáveis e a fiscalização estatal” — applicable regulatory requirements and state oversight preserved.
Operators’ authorisations were extinguished on 25 October 2026, 30 days after the publication of MP 1.394. CDA Gaming told the court it had paid R$30 million for its licence, which runs until 31 December 2029.
At first instance, the 26th Federal Civil Court of São Paulo had denied an injunction in Writ of Mandamus No. 5031432-52.2026.4.03.6100, holding that the public interest in protecting the population from the negative effects of betting should prevail over the legal certainty invoked by the company. As an alternative to a full resumption of activities, CDA Gaming had asked at minimum to retain back-office systems, banking interfaces and customer service channels needed to refund bettors and report to regulators. The appeals court granted the principal request instead.
In her reasoning, Pileggi found that the licence had required the company to make “vultosos investimentos financeiros e técnicos” — substantial financial and technical investments — and that the public-interest argument cannot ignore them. Extinguishing the authorisations on such a short timeframe, she held, violates the principles of legal certainty (segurança jurídica), reasonableness and proportionality. She also found absent the constitutional requirements of relevance and urgency for issuing provisional measures under Article 62 of the Brazilian Constitution.
The decision states that the expression “public interest” does not give the Administration “o poder mágico de alterar subitamente o acertado” — the magical power to suddenly alter what was agreed with the contracted party. The judge noted that MP 1.394 provides neither for the return of the licence fee, under the sole paragraph of Article 4, nor for compensation, which would amount to “um verdadeiro confisco” — a true confiscation. She also criticised the daily fine of R$200,000 set out in Article 8, §2 of the measure.
Responding to the government’s justification that existing regulatory instruments did not adequately protect health, consumers, children and families, the judge wrote ironically: “Ora, a MP seria um milagre, resolveria tudo!”, concluding that the approach “é inaceitável sob a óptica jurídica”. The ruling cites tax scholars Roque Carrazza and Heleno Taveira Torres in support of constitutional supremacy and legal certainty, which Pileggi defined as “o princípio da não-surpresa” — the principle of non-surprise.
Under Article 1.019, II of the Code of Civil Procedure, the court summoned the National Secretary of Digital Rights, the National Secretary of Public Security, the Secretary of Prizes and Betting of the Ministry of Finance and the President of the Central Bank to respond, with the Union (National Treasury) appearing as an interested party. BNLData reports an expectation that the Union will seek to overturn the decision. In the Stake case, a partial injunction granted by the 9th Federal Civil Court of São Paulo was suspended by the president of TRF3 at the Union’s request; BNLData notes that, unlike that case, the CDA Gaming decision came from a desembargadora at second instance and with reasoning that questions the constitutionality of MP 1.394 itself.
The ruling was handed down on the same day as a public hearing convened by Supreme Court (STF) Justice Luiz Fux in ADI 8027, the direct action challenging MP 1.394. In Congress, the measure begins to block the legislative agenda (trancar a pauta) on 9 November.
This article was produced with AI assistance and reviewed under the GamblingZine editorial verification process.
Sources
- TRF3 restabelece autorização da CDA Gaming e Casa de Apostas e Betsul voltam a ter aval para operar — Independent reporting (published 2026-11-03)
Reporting verified against the sources above; retrieval timestamps are preserved in the editorial record.