The president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco, stated that Bill 2.234 will be included in the voting agenda next Wednesday, December 4th. If postponed, it will be back on the agenda on December 10th.
Brazil.- The president of the National Congress, Senator Rodrigo Pacheco, declared that the Bill 2.234 to regulate casinos, bingos, and betting will go to a vote in the full Senate Federal between the sessions of December 4th and 10th. The inclusion of the proposal in the order of the day is a request from the college of leaders, as explained by Pacheco after the meeting with party representatives.
According to Pacheco's determination, the project should already be up for voting next Wednesday, December 4th. If it is not possible to analyze the text next week, the senator indicated that the proposal could return to the agenda on December 10th.
"This issue of gambling legalization is a project that came from the Chamber of Deputies and has government support. The Senate needs to decide whether to approve it or not. Several senators asked me in the meeting of leaders to present it to the Plenary," he declared. The last movement of the proposal occurred in August, when the senators held a thematic session.
The proposal that will be voted on in the plenary in December is authored by Senator Irajá. It regulates the exploitation of gambling and sports betting in Brazil, although the latter has been allowed in the country since the government of Michel Temer.
"There was, in fact, a national error in which Brazil and the National Congress in past legislatures allowed the legalization of sports betting without the legalization of physical games," analyzed Pacheco. "This is a premise that moves several parliamentarians and, therefore, there are several requests to consider the project, so that they can vote for or against the legalization of gambling in Brazil," he added.
Pacheco affirmed that the lack of regulation forces the National Congress to reassess betting, currently the subject of two Parliamentary Commissions of Investigation (CPI) in the Senate. "This critical moment that national life of uncontrolled sports betting imposes on us must be addressed specifically. I do not rule out the eventual and future need, if these controls are not sufficient, to prohibit this type of betting," he affirmed. "But another scenario is the issue of gambling legalization. The Senate must decide whether to support it or not," he added.
The text of the law authorizes the installation of casinos in tourist hubs or 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 of Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, Amazonas, and Pará, in which the limit provided 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.
See also: The Brazilian Minister of Tourism once again expressed his support for the regulation of casinos and gambling
The proposal 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".
