PalpiGol News · INSTITUTIONAL & FAIR PLAY
PalpiGol™ is not a betting site: new Fair Play page explains why we will never have betting
PalpiGol™ has published the new version of its Fair Play page, available at palpigol.com/fair-play and, in Portuguese, at palpigol.com.br/jogo-limpo. The goal is to make it absolutely clear that PalpiGol™ is not a betting site. There are no deposits, withdrawals, odds, cash prizes or bets between users: the game is played for points, ranking positions and trophies, never for money. This decision is a personal conviction of Fred Lima, founder and owner of PalpiGol™. Because it is a matter of conscience for the owner, not just a business rule, it is a firm commitment for as long as the company belongs to him. There are three main reasons. The first reason is faith. Fred Lima believes in the Bible and, above all, wants to faithfully please Jehovah. The Bible does not describe every kind of gambling, but its principles show that betting money does not fit a Christian life, because gambling feeds greed, selfish rivalry and trust in luck. The Watchtower of November 1, 2002 explains this based on texts such as 1 Corinthians 6:9, 10, which shows that the greedy will not inherit God's Kingdom, and Colossians 3:5, which treats greed as a form of idolatry. Galatians 5:26 advises against feeding selfishness, unhealthy rivalry and envy, and Isaiah 65:11 shows that God condemned those who trusted in luck instead of in him. The article also points out that many compulsive gamblers started with small bets just for fun, often at home with family and friends. Luke 16:10 teaches that whoever is faithful in little is also faithful in much, and 1 Timothy 6:10 warns that the love of money is a root of all sorts of harm. That is why, following the advice of Proverbs 27:12, the shrewd person sees danger and takes cover. The article itself suggests playing just for fun, at most keeping score, and that is exactly PalpiGol's model: here, points are worth victories, never money. The second reason is the real harm caused by betting. A dossier by IEPS (Brazil's Institute for Health Policy Studies), released in December 2025 together with the Parliamentary Front for Mental Health and Umane, estimates that health harms linked to betting cost Brazilian society at least R$ 30.6 billion a year. Of that total, R$ 17 billion is linked to deaths by suicide and R$ 13.4 billion to depression, including treatment and lost quality of life. When job loss, housing loss and imprisonment are added, the cost reaches at least R$ 38.8 billion a year. The study also points to about 1.4 million Brazilians facing problem gambling. Meanwhile, the betting industry made R$ 17.4 billion in profit in the first half of 2025 alone, and only 1% of the tax collected from these companies goes to Brazil's Ministry of Health. The dossier itself is careful to say that these harms are linked to gambling, since the evidence does not yet allow saying they were directly caused by it. For PalpiGol™, the risk alone is reason enough to stay away. The third reason is the essence of the game itself. PalpiGol™ was created to bring family and friends together around football: debating the matchday, teasing your cousin's wrong prediction, celebrating a comeback in the group chat and mocking whoever ends up last. When money comes in, the game turns into debt collection, rivalry turns into loss, and friendships are put at risk. As Proverbs 17:22 reminds us, a joyful heart does good like medicine, and Ecclesiastes 3:4 shows there is a time to laugh. Without money, the loser only pays with a bit of teasing, and comes back next round for revenge. The new Fair Play page also presents PalpiGol's house rules, with zero tolerance for racism, insults and hate speech, public scoring rules that are the same for everyone, and data handled under Brazil's data protection law (LGPD). It also includes a frequently asked questions section and a support area for anyone struggling with gambling. If you or someone close to you is going through this, reach out for help: look for a gambling support service in your country, such as the National Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-GAMBLER in the United States, or CVV, which offers free support 24/7 by calling 188 in Brazil. Sources consulted: The Watchtower (Portuguese edition), November 1, 2002, page 31, Questions From Readers (wol.jw.org); Awake! (Portuguese edition), 2002, What's wrong with gambling? (wol.jw.org); and the IEPS dossier on online betting and its health impacts, produced with the Parliamentary Front for Mental Health and Umane (ieps.org.br). Bible texts were consulted in the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, and all sources, with links, are listed at the end of the Fair Play page.