Although there is a law regulating the activity, this locality is still evaluating its implementation.
Brazil.- Approved in 2023, the municipal public lottery of Goiânia is still not operational. Mayor Sandro Mabel pointed out that, although the initiative was sanctioned and a decree to regulate it was published, the project is still being evaluated to determine if it will truly benefit the city.
In a recent interview with the newspaper Jornal Opção, Mabel commented that the municipality is conducting studies on the process, as several other Brazilian municipalities have implemented municipal lotteries. "We are studying the idea. We want to better understand this process to assess whether it will be advantageous for the municipality," explained the mayor, who mentioned that the topic was addressed in a recent meeting and that more evaluations will be conducted before making a final decision.
The law that authorizes the creation of the lottery, Law No. 11.052, was approved on September 29, 2023, following a proposal presented by councilman Léo José. The then mayor Rogério Cruz sanctioned the law and published a decree in December of that same year, in order to regulate the initiative.
However, the implementation process encountered obstacles in 2024. When the Goiânia City Hall launched a tender to hire a company that would operate the service, problems arose. The Court of Accounts of the Municipalities of the State of Goiás issued a precautionary measure that suspended the tender, due to irregularities in the process, such as deficiencies in the dissemination of the notice and the lack of an adequate basic project.
The tender process aimed to select a company that would be responsible for operating the lottery under a 10-year contract, with a projected collection of R$ 43.2m (USD 7.39m) in the first year. The contract also allowed participation in sports betting and draws in both physical and online modes. However, the observations of the Court of Accounts indicated that the contract should not be fulfilled exclusively by the new municipal administration, which led to the suspension of the process.
The law regulating the lottery stipulates that the revenues obtained will be mainly used to cover the tariff supplement of the concessionaires of the Integrated Transport System of the Metropolitan Region of Goiânia. In case of surpluses, the resources could be used to finance projects in areas such as health, education, public safety, and the transport system.
See also: Which is the new Brazilian state that will launch its own lottery
Additionally, the use of the revenues to finance the actuarial deficit of the social security of the municipal employees is also one of the options on the table. Carolina Alves, president of the Institute of Social Security of the Employees of Goiânia, indicated that the funds from the lottery could be key to reducing the estimated deficit of R$ 12,000m (USD 2.053m) in the accounts of the municipal pension system.
