Brazilian court restores CDA Gaming licence, suspends betting ban affecting three brands

CDA Gaming has secured a provisional injunction from Brazil's Regional Federal Court of the 3rd Region (TRF-3) that restores its online betting licence and suspends the implementation of Provisional Measure (MP) 1.394 against the company. The ruling, handed down by Federal Appellate Judge Adriana Pileggi on November 6, 2026, permits CDA's three operating brands - Betsul, Casa de Apostas, and Jogo Online - to return to the Brazilian market pending final judgment in the legal proceedings.

CDA Gaming had received its initial operating licence from Brazil's Secretariat for Prizes and Betting (SPA) in February 2025 under SPA/MF Ordinance 255/2025, authorizing operation of all three brands. However, MP 1.394 subsequently prohibited online betting operations and terminated authorizations granted under Brazil's regulated framework, forcing CDA Gaming offline after less than a year of licensed operation.

In her ruling, Judge Pileggi criticized the legal justification underpinning MP 1.394, which cited protection of public health, consumers, children, adolescents, and families as rationale for the betting ban. The judge found such reasoning legally insufficient, suggesting that if the measure truly addressed these concerns comprehensively, it would constitute a regulatory miracle. She concluded the stated public health objectives lacked substantive grounding and that the approach was 'unacceptable from a legal standpoint.'

The core of the court's decision rested on constitutional principles of legal certainty, reasonableness, and proportionality. Judge Pileggi determined that terminating CDA Gaming's licence within such a compressed timeframe - approximately nine months after issuance - inflicted harm on the authorized operator without adequate legal justification. She specifically ordered measures to restore CDA Gaming's operational capabilities, financial infrastructure, and payment processing services necessary to resume betting operations.

As of early November 2026, the three brands showed mixed readiness to return to market. Casa de Apostas successfully came back online, while Betsul's website displayed restoration notices but remained non-functional. Jogo Online continued redirecting traffic to the brasilsembets domain, suggesting incomplete technical reintegration across the portfolio.

This injunction represents a significant legal victory for CDA Gaming and a notable check on executive authority through provisional measures in Brazil's emerging regulated betting market. The decision underscores judicial concerns about regulatory stability in a market still establishing operational norms. Brazil's online betting sector, authorized under federal regulation beginning in 2024, has experienced considerable turbulence as policymakers balance competitive market development against public protection mandates. The precedent set by this injunction may influence how other operators challenge regulatory actions and how courts weigh legal certainty against public health assertions in the Brazilian gaming context.