“The text prohibits municipal public spaces, common-use assets, and educational, sports, cultural, and health facilities, as well as events, campaigns, and programs supported, sponsored, or carried out by the Municipality from being used as an institutional showcase to promote virtual betting companies and online gambling,” explains Fabrício Rosa.
Bill 640/2025 also blocks sponsorships, naming rights, or partnerships that associate the identity of Goiânia and its public facilities with these platforms. The proposal further bans advertising related to bets linked to electoral outcomes as a measure to protect democratic integrity and prevent conflicts between economic interests and the electoral process.
The situations in which this prohibition will apply are as follows: in municipal public assets for common or special use, whether owned or managed by the Municipality or its indirect administration entities, under any title; in municipal public facilities such as schools, early childhood centers, health units, transport terminals, squares, parks, gyms, stadiums, sports centers, and cultural centers; and in vehicles, structures, and spaces linked to concessions, permits, or authorizations for municipal public services.
The councilman explains that the bill does not address the authorization or economic exploitation of fixed-odds betting or online games provided for in federal legislation (Law 13.756/2018 and Law 14.790/2023), but instead regulates the use of public spaces, local advertising, and the Municipality’s institutional relations, in the exercise of its authority to protect health, consumers, and public order, as established in the Federal Constitution.
Ban on agreements, contracts, and use of the Municipality’s official brands
The text also prohibits authorizing the use of the Municipality’s brands, symbols, crests, mottos, or any visual identity elements in materials, events, or campaigns sponsored by such entities. It forbids authorizing the use of municipal properties, facilities, or public spaces for events whose main promotional strategy is tied to the commercial promotion of betting platforms.
Once Bill 640/2025 is approved, the Goiânia City Hall will no longer be able to accept donations, sponsorships, gifts, or financial or material resources that imply advertising compensation or institutional association with the brand of virtual betting platforms or gambling companies.
The sole paragraph clarifies that the prohibition in this article does not apply to official lotteries established by federal or state law, as long as specific regulations are observed, nor to public information campaigns about gambling risks, addiction, or financial education.
Oversight and penalties
Enforcement of this Law, once sanctioned, will fall to the competent municipal bodies, as provided by regulation and in accordance with legislation on municipal conduct, advertising, and land use.
In cases of noncompliance, offenders will be subject—according to the severity of the infraction and respecting due process and full defense—to the following administrative sanctions, without prejudice to civil and criminal liability: warning; monetary fine, scaled by regulation; temporary suspension of authorization or license for the act or event in which the infraction occurred; and revocation of municipal license or authorization in cases of serious repeat offenses.
Educational actions
Regarding educational actions, the bill authorizes Goiânia City Hall to promote ongoing campaigns for the prevention of gambling addiction and debt resulting from betting and gambling; financial and digital education, with a focus on children, adolescents, young people, and low-income families; and the dissemination of SUS health-care channels and psychosocial services for people with gambling disorder.
The Executive Branch will be responsible for regulating this Law to define inspection procedures, sanction parameters, and implementation methods, without creating new structures or positions.
Source: GMB
