for early access to the latest igaming videos!
and get the latest igaming news first!
A Brazilian court has refused to lift the nationwide ban on Pixbet activities, dismissing the company’s appeal to lift the impact of an earlier injunction. Judge Adílson Fabrício of the Court of Justice of Paraíba issued this decision, upholding the emergency order issued by the Juvenile Court of Campina Grande.
Therefore, Pixbet has to keep its services inactive in Brazil until it proves it is able to implement age verification mechanisms that can stop children from using its betting platform. The court says the necessary controls should include facial recognition and live detection for all financial transactions and logins.
The decision marks a shift in Brazil’s regulated online gambling sector, where courts are increasingly prioritizing consumer protection and minor safeguards.
Child Protection at the Center of the Case
Educafro Brasil filed the public civil action with the Padre Ezequiel Ramin Human Rights Center. The organizations suggested that there should be better technological protections in place to stop kids and teens from gambling online.
In the ruling, the judge highlighted two principles that are enshrined in the Brazilian Federal Constitution and in the Statute of the Child and Adolescent (ECA): the interests of minors are absolute and take priority over private economic interests.
The court also emphasized that online betting sites must have very strong security measures to prevent minors from gambling. The ruling states that even if these systems are weak in certain respects, they could still fail in the services they offer.
In this way, the judge used the precautionary principle, which states that the presence of a potential risk to children and adolescents is enough to warrant “urgent judicial intervention” even if no harm has occurred.
Pixbet Challenged the Injunction
In its appeal, Pixbet claimed that it is already meeting the technical requirements set out by the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (SPA) of the Ministry of Finance, through facial biometric verification.
The firm also argued that the Juvenile Court in Campina Grande had overstepped its bounds by suspending operations across the country, which are regulated federally.
But the appellate judge did not accept such submissions and held that: Since the alleged harm (and the activity of the company) has a national scope, the Juvenile Court of Campina Grande/PB was competent to issue a decision with nationwide effects, according to the Consumer Protection Code, Article 93, II.
Court Questions the Reliability of the Verification System
The court concluded the technical certifications issued by Pixbet do not establish that Pixbet’s verification system is effective at fully preventing use by minors.
Therefore, the judge found that the requirements for the suspension of the injunction were not satisfied and decided it was the most suitable thing to do to leave the original decision in place while the case is being heard.
In the judgment, it was said: In view of the foregoing, it is worth highlighting that the appeal does not appear to have a chance of success, nor does the granting of a suspensive effect to the challenged decision appear to be warranted by the requirements set forth in Article 995, sole paragraph, and Article 1.019(I) of the Code of Civil Procedure.
The case is ongoing, and the suspension will remain in effect until the operator is able to prove that it is in line with the court’s requirements for age verification and minors protection.
Source: iGaming Brasil
