Justice orders Spribe to block Aviator on illegal sites
Of 37 internet addresses reviewed by the prosecution, 32 offered or promoted Aviator without having permission to operate in Brazil. And after the developer itself reported having taken measures, new sites with the same game appeared. This finding is the basis of the ruling that compels Spribe OÜ, the creator of the title, to cut off access to illegal operators.
The decision was issued on September 14 by the 7th Civil Chamber of Brasília, which partially granted the preliminary injunction requested by the Public Ministry of the Federal District and Territories (MPDFT). Spribe has ten days to comply, and if it fails to do so, it risks a penalty of BRL 100,000 for each day of delay. In the main case, the prosecution is also claiming BRL 110m for collective moral damages.
The court did not go as far as the Public Ministry requested. It did not order the removal of Aviator from authorized operators, but rather to block its use by those who are not licensed. Specifically, Spribe must shut down the technical connections, keys, licenses, and permissions that keep the game available on these platforms, and establish a permanent monitoring scheme with tracking, geo-blocking, and access cut-offs to prevent disconnected operators from returning via another address. It must also retain records that allow knowing who uses the product and how.
The prosecution's reasoning focuses on the supply chain. For the MPDFT, whoever created Aviator and owns its rights occupies a central place in the chain from when the game is programmed until it reaches a lobby, licensed and integrated, and has technical and contractual tools to detect who uses it without permission. The measures it has taken so far, it argues, have not been sufficient. The stated objective is not to remove the game from the market but to compel its owner to protect consumers.
The investigation was carried out by the 1st Consumer Defense Prosecutor's Office (Prodecon). Its head, Paulo Roberto Binicheski, accused the company of having acted reactively despite having the means to block irregular use, conduct which, in his interpretation, may violate the Consumer Defense Code because it leaves players facing pages without payment guarantees, data protection, or responsible gambling. He added that the Judiciary recognized this duty of diligence. The prosecution also warned that seeing the same title on legal and illegal platforms makes it difficult for users to distinguish which ones operate with authorization.
Aviator is one of the most popular crash-type games in the Brazilian market, and its developer is registered in Estonia as an OÜ company. The ruling comes at a time when online casinos, with Aviator among their most cited titles, are at the center of discussions about a possible ban promoted by the Government, and sets a precedent regarding the responsibility of content providers in the face of illegal offerings.
Tags: Spribe, Aviator, Public Prosecutor's Office of the Federal District and Territories, illegal crash game offering, Gaming, Crash & Instant