SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Legal developments in Brazil see Pixbet, handed a judicial reprieve to dismiss an abrupt 90-day suspension of its ‘provisional licence’ sanctioned by the SPA, the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA) of the Bets regime.
On 10 April the SPA issued a suspension of the licences of four operators, citing non-compliance with technical certification rules. But by the following evening, Pixbet had returned to business.
Within 48 hours Pixbet secured a ‘liminar’, or injunction, from Judge Anderson Santos da Silva of the Federal Court in Brasília, who ruled that the measure imposed by the SPA was excessive in light of the facts.
The Federal judge intervention allows Pixbet to continue offering fixed-odds betting services while its compliance is reviewed, isolating it from the broader crackdown that has ensnared three rival operators: Caixa Lotteries SA, TQJ-Par Participações Societárias SA, and 7MBR Ltda.
The SPA’s Normative Ordinance No. 787 suspended the licences of these four firms for up to 90 days, citing a failure to comply with Article 3 of Ordinance No. 2,104, which requires the submission of technical certificates for betting platforms.
The move was part of a broader attempt to tighten oversight in a market which, until recently, had been operating ‘transitionary rules’, in which incumbents had a grace period to submit technical certifications by independent third parties.
Pixbet, for its part, argues that it submitted the required documentation in good faith, art three out of four certificates were delivered in February, with the final integration certificate filed on April 10th, the day before the ordinance took effect.
The company described the SPA’s action as “illegal and disproportionate”, citing the reputational and economic impact, particularly concerning a R$470m (roughly $92m) sponsorship agreement with Flamengo CR, one of Brazil’s most prominent football clubs.
Judge da Silva appeared to agree. In his ruling, he emphasised that the intent of the ordinance was to ensure operational security, not to impose punitive sanctions for administrative delays. He also cited the potential contractual fallout from the decision: Flamengo was due to play Grêmio on April 13th, and failure to display Pixbet’s Flabet branding could have breached sponsorship terms.
The timing was indeed precarious. Only licensed operators are permitted to sponsor sports teams in Brazil, and Pixbet’s exclusion could have had legal and financial consequences. Thanks to the injunction, Flamengo took to the pitch bearing Flabet’s logo, sparing both the club and the sponsor from a costly embarrassment.
Pixbet’s swift legal manoeuvre has bought it breathing room, the episode underscores the fragility of Brazil’s fast-growing betting sector. As reported by SBC News, the SPA’s sweeping suspension left other firms scrambling to demonstrate compliance, highlighting the regulator’s newfound willingness to assert authority in a market long characterised by informality and inertia.
The stakes are high. Brazil’s regulated betting market, only recently formalised through federal legislation, the Central Bank recently announced that it had monitored a transactional volume of BRL 30bn in the first quarter of activity.
The SPA, under pressure to demonstrate effectiveness, appears intent on enforcing technical and financial safeguards. Yet its actions also risk unsettling commercial partners, football clubs, and a nascent ecosystem of licensed operators.
Pixbet’s case reveals the tension between regulatory assertiveness and legal due process. While the court’s intervention was specific to Pixbet—no relief has yet been extended to the other suspended operators—it suggests that compliance disputes will increasingly play out in courtrooms a concern for Bets authorities on the interpretation of technical rules applied on licences.
As stands, Pixbet may continue operate without repercussions, as the SPA sees its first regulatory penalty, issued since the launch of the Bets Regime on 1 January watered down by a Federal Judge’s intervention ,
