Just over a month after the controversial opening of the Winfil gaming house in the South Zone, Porto Alegre is expected to have other betting establishments this Friday (1st). On the date, Keno Play will start operating, with number draws in a lottery mode. In addition to the venue in the Rio Branco neighborhood, two other houses of the company will open their doors this Friday, one in the center of the capital and another in Passo Fundo, in the north of the state.
General manager of the headquarters that operates Keno Play, Edes Landim, said the three houses of the group should open today, at noon. Landim commented that the company operates under articles of Law 7,291 of 1984, known as the Turf Law, which allows bets on horse races.
One of the articles on which the company relies is number 14, which authorizes jockey clubs to explore "other lottery modalities". "We have the turf legislation, which says that jockey clubs can develop these draws. For now, the only jockey authorized by the law is Carazinho," Landim added.
Keno Play claims to be operated by the Jockey Club Carazinhense (JCC), which would place the bookmaker within the umbrella of the Turf Law. The company informs that its establishments "operate as sub-venues of the JCC" and the centralization of the operations is carried out by two partners.
Prosecutor Luciano Vaccaro, coordinator of the Criminal Operational Support Center (Caocrim) of the State Public Ministry (MP-RS), said that the agency will evaluate the activities in the gaming houses after the establishments have opened. According to Vaccaro, from this stage, it will be possible to evaluate concretely if the services offered by the company are within the law. Vaccaro said that if necessary, the MP will evaluate actions in conjunction with security agencies against irregularities.
The prosecutor affirms that the game of chance is not allowed in Brazil, since the Supreme Federal Court (STF) and the Congress did not deliberate on the subject and that the MP will analyze if the Turf Law endorses Keno Play: "Talking about turf, of course, bets are placed on the institutions, on the horse races, on the appropriate places where there are horse races. It is not allowed the exploration of electronic game on horse betting, or things like that," said the coordinator of Caocrim.
The general manager of Keno Play says that the houses will also offer entertainment and gastronomy options. The group expects to open new venues by the end of the year. One of them would be in Santa Maria, in the central region of the state. Together, the two gaming houses of the Capital have the capacity to receive 500 customers, 300 in the Rio Branco neighborhood and 200 in the Center. The Passo Fundo venue can house 300 people.
Source: GMB / Anderson Aires - GaúchaZH
