On May 29, the Federal Court ordered the suspension of a preliminary injunction in favor of the sportsbook Zona de Jogo. According to the Poder 360 portal, Federal Judge Itagiba Catta revoked the preliminary decision that maintained the brand’s operating authorization.
According to the decision, the body responsible for defining whether or not a brand can operate sports betting or online games in Brazil is the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA), linked to the Ministry of Treasury.
“The request made by the claimant exceeds the limits of the writ of mandamus and is incompatible with the chosen route. In practice, the aim is to reassess decisions taken within the scope of the administrative process, as well as to grant authorization for the exercise of a regulated activity, measures that cannot be determined by the Judiciary in this action of a writ of mandamus nature.
The writ of mandamus is intended to protect a clear and certain right, supported by pre-established evidence, and is not intended to replace the discretionary actions of the Public Administration.
It is important to highlight that the role of the Judiciary in controlling the legality of administrative acts is limited to verifying their compliance with current legislation, and is prohibited from analyzing their administrative merit.
In this case, it is not up to the Judiciary to replace the Prize and Betting Office to determine the issuance of authorization, as this would imply undue interference in the administrative process regularly instituted and concluded, violating the principle of separation of powers. Any disagreement regarding the content of the administrative decision does not justify the granting of the order, nor does it authorize the reexamination of the convenience or opportunity of the act. ”, states the decision.
Understand the case of the Zona de Jogo
According to Poder 360, the company Zona de Jogo filed a writ of mandamus against SPA in December of last year. An injunction was granted in January 2025. Thus, the platform was included in the list of betting houses authorized to operate in Brazil by court order.
Zona de Jogo is no longer listed among the sportsbooks authorized on the SPA official website. The list of companies authorized by the Ministry of Treasury to offer fixed-odds bets nationwide can be found HERE.
