The vote moved Brazil one step away from making it possible to create a Brazilian version of the resort cities of Las Vegas, Cancun and Macau. Or as Bill 2,234/2022’s rapporteur, Senator Irajá, put it: “All democratic and civilized countries like Brazil, with regulated gaming and betting, said ‘enough to illegal gambling’ and grew socially and economically.”
The vote in the Senate’s Constitution and Justice Committee (CCJ) was 14-12, with supporters from the right and the left. However, the narrow margin indicates just how controversial it remains, especially from the evangelical Christian caucus, to legalize casinos, bingos and jogo do bicho. Brazil previously legalized sports betting.
Next it will be taken up by the Senate Plenary. The House of Deputies in 2022 passed the bill. If it is approved by the full Senate, the next step would be President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s signature.
During the discussion Senator Irajá argued that the bill was important both economically and socially, and pointed to other nations, including Latin American ones, that have benefited from legalized gambling.
The rapporteur said that of the G20 countries, only Saudi Arabia and Indonesia, both Islamic countries, ban gambling. He declared, “No country that legalized gambling has gone back on regulating the activity, which shows that the benefits are visible. Among them, tax collection and the creation of formal jobs. Today in Brazil, the jogo do bicho alone provides more than 1 million informal jobs and illegal games operate under the shadow of the law without collecting taxes.”
He said the country stood to collect R$22 billion (US$ 4.05 billion) annually in taxes.
He painted opponents of legalized gambling with regulations and supervision as favoring black-market gambling. “What is the benefit of clandestine gambling? None,” he declared.
Although the House approved the bill two years ago, its path in the Senate has crept along.
The move to legalize dates back to the previous president, Jair Messias Bolsonaro, who urged the lawmakers to help create a Brazilian version of Cancun, Mexico, a city renowned for its resort casinos.
According to Casino.org the Las Vegas Sands organization of the late Sheldon Adelson, has for years been interested in an integrated resort in Brazil.
Senator Irajá said it was time for Brazil to join other gaming countries. “We can no longer lose this great opportunity that other competing countries have already understood and is seen to generate jobs, income, and taxes, which will obviously be reversed into benefits for the Brazilian people in the most essential areas, such as health, education, social, and infrastructure,” he said.
The bill would authorize casinos in tourist centers, high-end hotels with at least 100 rooms, restaurants, bars and places where meetings and cultural events are held. Casinos would be limited to one per state and the Federal District. São Paulo could have three, and Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, Amazonas and Pará, could each have up to two.
Shipboard casinos would also be allowed, limited to a total of 10, and on riverboats with at least 50 rooms.
The bill also creates rules for bingo in cards and electronic formats, and allows each state to license one bingo entity per 700,000 inhabitants.
Licenses would be for 25 years, and could be renewed. Horse racing could be operated by horse-racing turf entities accredited to the Ministry of Agriculture. Those horse-racing entities could also offer bingo and video bingo.
