The proposal to legalize bingos, casinos, and gambling remains without a defined date for its processing due to the alarms raised by the government regarding the indebtedness of the most needy families through sports betting and the effect this had on public opinion.
Brazil.- Although President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva publicly declared that he would enact the proposal to legalize gambling if Congress approved the Bill 2234/22, everything changed due to the government's concern about regulating sports betting to contain the indebtedness of the lower-income sectors, following a report released by the Central Bank.
The president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco, tried to hold the vote in the first week of September, but the resistance from the conservative wing and the government's concerns about betting caused the project to be put on stand-by. In the Commission of Citizenship and Justice (CCJ), the text was approved with a tight score: 14 to 12 and the government sought to ensure having enough affirmative votes before proceeding to the Senate Plenum vote.
The rapporteur of Bill 2234/22, Senator Irajá, has been working for the proposal to be considered after the municipal elections, but the political atmosphere has become turbulent with the lack of regulation of betting, which ended up causing a deficit of image for the sector. Even so, the parliamentarian continues to defend the voting of the proposal with arguments that physical gambling has a strong potential to generate taxes and jobs, as well as boosting tourism.
For Irajá, the debate about online gambling only reinforces the need to regulate other types of games such as casino, bingo, and Jogo do Bicho. “Unlike online games, 'real world' games have the potential to generate R$ 100,000m (USD 17,599m) in investments, R$ 20,000m (USD 3,519m) in taxes, and 1.5 million direct and indirect jobs, in addition to doubling the number of tourists in the country,” he stated.
“I have been talking with Senator Rodrigo Pacheco almost daily. We are waiting for the temperature to drop a bit, but I am convinced that we will approve the project this year. We already have the necessary votes, we have convinced the senators, at least the majority,” Irajá hoped about a future treatment of the project, although it still does not have a defined date for treatment.
The text authorizes the installation of casinos in tourist hubs or in integrated leisure complexes, with a limit of one casino per state and in the Federal District, with the exception of São Paulo, which could have up to three casinos, and Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, Amazonas, and Pará, where the limit for each state is two casinos.
According to the proposal, gaming rooms can also operate on maritime and river vessels, which will follow specific rules. The casino must demonstrate a minimum integrated social capital of at least R$ 100m (USD 19m) and can be accredited for 30 years.
It also establishes rules for the game of bingo in cardboard and electronic modalities, and allows in each state the accreditation of a legal entity for every 700,000 inhabitants for the exploitation of the “jogo do bicho”.
In this case, the authorizations will have a validity of 25 years, renewable for an equal period. Horse races may be exploited by turf entities accredited in the Ministry of Agriculture, which may also exploit, at the same time, games of bingo and video bingo.
While the treatment of the project continues to be undefined, the government continues seeking support from entities linked to the project. In this sense, the president of the Institute of Development and Tourism (IDT-CEMA) of Brazil, Bruno Omori, participated in a hearing at the Ministry of Tourism and the National Secretariat of Tourism Policies to discuss the impacts that the law could have.
Omori referred to the positive impact of the approval of the project and highlighted the potential to generate more than 10 million jobs in the country's tourism sector, with the injection of national and international investments of more than USD 70,000m into the macroeconomy. Additionally, he noted that the entry of casinos would generate “billions in taxes” for public coffers.
See also: The Brazilian Minister of Tourism campaigns for the approval of Bill 2.234/22
A meeting was also held between members of the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (SPA) of the Ministry of Finance and three representatives of the National Association of Defenders of the Gaming and Betting Industry (ANDSJA).
