The definition of the future of betting advertising in the capital of Minas Gerais is expected next month.
The City Council of Belo Horizonte (MG) decided to postpone the vote on bills that aim to ban advertising for betting houses and online games in the city.
The retreat occurred this Wednesday (10), at the request of councilor Pedro Rousseff, author of the main text, upon realizing that there was not the necessary parliamentary support to guarantee approval of the matter in the second round.
Why the project against betting advertising in Belo Horizonte was postponed
As the proposals were being processed together, the postponement of the main text automatically suspended the analysis of the parallel project prepared by councilor Wagner Ferreira.
For the measure to advance in the plenary, at least 21 votes in favor are needed.
Explaining this tactical maneuver to gain time for political articulation, Rousseff declared:
“Today we didn’t have the vote to approve this, so we asked to postpone it until next month, so that we can sit down with all 41 councilors and actually get this approval.”
In April of this year, the agenda had already been halted when Belo Horizonte city hall itself entered the discussions and asked for “more time to analyze the proposals”.
Despite the bureaucratic obstacles, the author of the main measure still defends the strong national impact of local legislation.
What are the direct criticisms of the delay in deliberating laws
The new suspension of the agenda generated great frustration among supporters of the measure.
Councilor Wagner Ferreira, author of the most comprehensive text that even prohibits the sponsorship of platforms in public facilities, harshly criticized the extension of the deadline.
“The procedure has been suspended, and in the meantime, the people of our city will continue to suffer from the advertising of these companies, suffering from addiction. It’s all that everyone knows that betting harms our country,” he said.
The parliamentarian also made a point of recalling the massive and recent presence of these operators in major events supported by the municipal public authorities.
“What happened at Parque Municipal during Carnival was advertising for bets throughout the event. Those who participated saw it.
It was on Avenida Afonso Pena, in various places during Carnival. Belotur signed a contract with betting operators and spread propaganda throughout the city”, he said.
While the city council tries to reorganize support for the month of July, the legal dispute continues to gain strength on the national scene.
The National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL) sued the Federal Supreme Court (STF) to try to block similar strict laws already approved in other states in the country, arguing that the regulation of this specific market should be a completely exclusive responsibility of the Union.
