The election of Hugo Motta as the president of the Chamber of Deputies and Davi Alcolumbre to lead the Senate brings significant expectations for the gaming sector in Brazil. Both are in favor of legalizing the activity, in addition to maintaining dialogue with sector representatives. Either way, the path to the approval of Bill 2234/22, which legalizes casinos, bingos, and the "jogo do bicho" will not be easy. The CPIs' requirements also represent risks for bets during 2025.
The election of the presidents of the Chamber of Deputies and the Federal Senate on Saturday (1), gives new momentum to the gaming and betting sector. Under their leadership, new discussions on the regulation of sports betting and the legalization of gambling in Brazil will be conducted.
The president of the Chamber of Deputies, Hugo Motta (Republicans-PB), was elected with the support of Arthur Lira, one of the most influential deputies of the current legislature and favorable to gaming. His disciple follows the same inclination as his mentor and, in addition to having voted in favor of legalizing gambling in Brazil, supported the process of regulating sports betting and online games in the country.
Meanwhile, the new president of the Senate, Davi Alcolumbre (União-AP), returns to lead the direction of the House after having chaired the Senate's Constitution and Justice Committee. It was under his presidency, with explicit and behind-the-scenes support, that Bill 2234/2022, reported by Senator Irajá, was approved.
It will now be up to him to schedule the entry of the matter on the Plenary agenda, postponed at the beginning of December at the request of the rapporteur. The matter will be resumed as soon as the Senate receives reports from the Ministries of Health, Development, and Social Assistance on what the approval of the matter would represent for Brazil.
Both houses are discussing gaming and betting in Brazil. Both the Chamber and the Senate are processing projects to reduce the influence of bets in the economy and to prohibit advertising of the sector. It will be up to the presiding boards to forward the projects to the committees.
At the same time, two CPIs dealing with bets will continue in the Senate. The CPI on the Manipulation of Games and Bets, under the command of Senator Kajuru, has February 15 as the ultimate day to complete its work. Meanwhile, the CPI of Bets, chaired by Dr. Hiran and reported by Soraya Thronicke, will continue until the end of April.
Both are still full of requirements, many of which have not even been considered, which gives the dimension of the problem that the CPIs will have to finish their work and present reports.
With the election of the new presidents of the Chamber and the Senate, the sector should now analyze how to forward the discussions in Congress and seek the most influential interlocutors to ensure the progress achieved so far and build an environment favorable to the voting of Bill 2234, as well as coordinate the overthrow of projects that try to limit the operation of bets.
Source: GMB
