A court in the State of Goiás has directed 251 online betting platforms to introduce prominently displayed warnings about the risks of gambling, following a preliminary decision issued on Tuesday by Judge Fláviah Lançoni Costa Pinheiro of the 15th Civil and Environmental Court of the District of Goiânia.
The order requires companies to present the message on both homepages and pre-game screens within 15 days, cautioning users that “Gambling can cause pathological addiction (gambling disorder), anxiety disorders, depression, and lead to over-indebtedness. Gamble responsibly. Prohibited for those under 18 years of age.”
All platforms involved are accredited by the Prizes and Betting Secretariat of the Ministry of Finance.
The judicial directive is only a component of a larger action initiated by the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the State of Goiás, which filed 13 separate lawsuits encompassing roughly 20 companies each. The overall case value was set at R$ 1 million.
A daily fine of R$ 10 per company applies in the event of non-compliance, capped at R$ 500. Defendant companies have also been summoned to attend a conciliation hearing at CEJUSC, with a penalty for unjustified absence.
The case originally proceeded before the 18th Civil and Environmental Court, but procedural rules under the Code of Civil Procedure required its transfer to the 15th Court, where the earliest related filing was being processed. During the proceedings, the court also confronted a jurisdictional dispute.
An initial determination called for the inclusion of the Federal Government as a defendant on the argument that the matter involved federally regulated companies. After the Public Prosecutor’s Office submitted recent case law from the Goiás Court of Justice, the judge accepted that the State Court had jurisdiction to hear the matter despite federal regulation of betting platforms.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office argued that online betting companies expose consumers, particularly low-income users, to the risks of pathological gambling, psychological harm, and financial distress, while failing to disclose the potential consequences of gambling activity.
The lawsuit relied on documentation from a public civil inquiry that included technical evaluations by the Regional Council of Medicine of the State of Goiás and the Federal Council of Psychology. The materials outlined the social, mental, and financial impacts associated with gambling without proper warnings.
The judge determined that the evidence met the criteria for urgent relief, noting the “fumus boni iuris” and “periculum in mora,” and granted the reversal of the burden of proof based on the Consumer Protection Code, citing consumers’ technical and informational vulnerability.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office is exempt from advance payment of fees under the Law of Public Civil Action and the Consumer Protection Code.
Original article: https://www.yogonet.com/international/news/2026/02/17/117620-brazil-court-compels-251-online-betting-platforms-to-display-addictionrisk-warnings
