According to Bacelar, Bolsonaro "has nothing to present to his voter" and is "looking for approval" for his re-election. "When he [Bolsonaro] says he's going to veto the Gaming Bill, it's to please a part of his neo-Pentecostal constituency, which is already revolting with him, and that he's already losing, because a considerable portion of these people are black and the poor, a segment of the population with whom he does not even know how to dialogue," stated the deputy leader of Podemos at Casa ao Bahia Notícias this Tuesday (14).
For Bacelar, the illegality of gaming in the country is an impediment to collection, inspection and State control over the activity. According to the deputy, who is harmed is the citizen who "has no protection" when playing, in addition to the private initiative. "This is a very rich chain, which could generate jobs, but which today does not return a penny in taxes to the government," he comments. According to him, more than BLR28 billion (USD 4.95 bln) are not collected each year in illegal gaming.
In Latin America, only in Brazil and Cuba games of chance are prohibited. However, the Internet has democratized access to websites that offer sports betting services, legalized in the country since 2018, but also to illegal gambling houses in the country. The deputy spoke on more than 450 "off shore" web pages, located in other countries, are accessed in Brazil.
"Gaming is part of the human being's constitution. There are reports that there were casinos in China even before Christ. So it is not an issue that can remain in the shadows of illegality," commented the congressman.
In the country, games of chance have been banned for over 75 years. "During that time, has the number of players decreased? No. Quite the contrary," he concluded.
The Bill must still be voted on in the Chamber, and according to Cezinha, at least 50 fellow evangelicals must form a quorum against its approval. Bacelar, however, believes that the issue "has already matured," since there have been discussions in Congress about it since the 1980s.
Source: Bahia Notícias
