In the scope of the Commission of Constitution, Justice and Citizenship (CCJ), Senator Irajá presented a favorable report for the approval of PL 2234/2022, which legalizes gambling such as casinos (in integrated and tourist resorts), bingo, and the animal game in Brazil. In the text, the legislator states that "gambling already constitutes a relevant economic activity and should be subject to regulation by the State". The CCJ session was closed without discussing the matter.
PL 2234/2022 legalizes all forms of gambling in Brazil, such as casinos in resorts, tourist casinos, bingos, animal game, and online. It was approved in February 2022 in the Chamber of Deputies and, sent to the Senate, received a new number and has been shelved since then.
Since its approval in the Chamber of Deputies, still under no. 442/91, PL has been criticized by conservative parliamentarians and the evangelical bench, who have always unfoundedly claimed that gambling promoted family disintegration, attacked morals and good customs, and would be a gateway to tax evasion, drug trafficking, and money laundering.
In relation to the alleged offense to morals and good customs, as the religious bench in the National Congress always raises when showing opposition to the legalization of gambling, Senator Irajá contests the argument.
"It is an indeterminate legal concept. Moreover, the religious motivations occasionally raised do not have the strength to oppose the regulation of the theme, since, as a rule, no one can be deprived in the country of rights due to religious belief or philosophical or political conviction."
He further reinforces that "it is clear in the Constitution that the economic order must be governed by the principles of free enterprise and the valorization of work. Therefore, we opine for the material constitutionality", he defended.
By admitting the merit of the project, Irajá states that the main benefit of PL no. 2234, "is to allow an economic activity that is already practiced even in contravention, to come under state control, mitigating any links between gambling and organized crime".
In his report, the senate points out data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), jurist Felipe Santa Cruz, and professor Pedro Trengrouse, who "assert that the market of games and bets (legal or illegal) moved R$ 50 billion in 2014. In the case of the species contemplated by the PL, the animal game moved about R$ 3 billion; the casinos, R$ 3 billion; the bingos, R$ 2.35 billion; and the turf, R$ 300 million".
"The gambling market in Brazil is relevant, given that it moved a value between R$ 8.6 billion and R$ 18.9 billion in 2014. Updating this amount to the inflation rate calculated by the Broad Consumer Price Index (IPCA) in the period, the gambling market would move from R$ 14.34 billion to R$ 31.5 billion in 2023", says the senator in his report.
"That is, even in contravention, gambling already constitutes a relevant economic activity and, as such, must be subject to regulation by the State. Therefore, the Proposition deserves to prosper. We conclude that PL no. 2234, of 2022, meets the requirements of constitutionality, legality, regimentality, and good legislative technique. Moreover, it is a meritorious Proposition, given that it establishes clear rules for a relevant economic activity that today is on the margins of state supervision".
Source: GMB
