In a conversation with GMB about Jair Bolsonaro's statements to Veja, deputy Bacelar said that the president's opinion is totally wrong and with inverted values. “The State loses the most by keeping gambling illegal and not collecting billions of reais currently handled by this activity. The Brazilian citizen also loses because he does not have the protection of the State,” said Bacelar.
The deputy admits that the government is divided on the issue of gambling legalization, but recalls that the current head of the Civil House - Senator Ciro Nogueira - has a bill in the Senate that calls for the legalization of the activity in Brazil.
“We have surveys that indicate that more than 50% of deputies are in favor of approving the regulatory framework for gaming. We are very optimistic, as it is a good project for the country because we have an economic crisis, including the one of the tourism sector, which is still very incipient. So, we will be able to take advantage of this potential that the gaming sector has to generate income, employment and taxes. This is the moment,” assured the deputy.
For Bacelar, “investments, revenue from new taxes and thousands of jobs are obvious arguments, but the real challenge for the Legislature at this time is the creation and establishment of laws and regulations that allow citizens to exercise their desire to play under the watchful eyes rules clearly defined by the State and their effective application.”
Bacelar, saying he is optimistic about the process, believes that this time it will be possible to face the historic resistance of the evangelical bench: “This resistance is very localized, from representatives of the most conservative wing of evangelicals, from deputies very close to the direction of certain groups. But it is not true that the evangelical bench is against it. Marcelo Crivella [connected to Universal church], former mayor of Rio, used to say that only the revenue from this sector could take Rio out of bankruptcy.”
As leader of the Working Group of 13 deputies created by Arthur Lira recently with the mission of approving, still in 2021, a project that would release all verticals, including casinos, bingos, slot machines and jogo do bicho, Bacelar referred to the President Bolsonaro's eventual veto of the matter, in his statements to Veja magazine this weekend.
“This is a risk in the legislative process. The president has the power of veto, but we can also overturn that veto. I sincerely hope that [the veto] does not happen. The working group will build consensus in the Chamber,” promised the deputy.
For Bacelar, the approach to the issue from the perspective of 'custom' adopted by Bolsonaro "is just to please his evangelical base and places the president, even if unintentionally, beside whoever wins the most with illegal gambling," stated to GMB.
The same opinion has the Federal Deputy from Pernambuco Augusto Coutinho, National Vice President of Solidarity: “The president makes the speech of a part of his followers, but we will continue with our conviction that [the approval of a regulatory framework for gaming] will be important for our country,” he told Games Magazine Brasil.
In the same vein, Deputy Newton Cardoso Jr., one of the 13 legislators who are part of the Congressional Working Group, commented, regarding the president's statements, that he will continue in the defense of small casinos in health resorts and spas destinies, which he approved as an amendment to Bill 442. "I continue to defend this part of the text and if we need to overturn the veto, we will, because jobs and taxes are fundamental for the country," Cardoso Jr told GMB.
“We want to legalize the gaming sector that works clandestinely such as casinos, bingos and jogo do bicho so that the government can collect taxes and invest in social areas. I continue to defend this position as always and even more so now in the Working Group created by Arthur Lira,” promised Deputy Herculano Passos, also consulted by GMB.
Regarding the concerns with addicts to gambling, Deputy Bacelar compared: “Alcohol is much more addictive than gambling and nobody defends, as far as I know, the closing of the drink market.” The deputy also downplayed the private interests of some parliamentarians linked to the theme: "How many deputies are linked to agribusiness and are there defending agendas of interest to agribusiness?"
Bacelar explained that sectors of the PF and the Public Ministry, in addition to some associations, sometimes speak out against the legalization of the activity, fearing money laundering, but questioned this fear: "Where it is easier, theoretically, to launder money: in a motel or in gaming, where taxation is higher? Will the state put an inspector at the motel door to count how many cars are coming in? No more money circulating in the casino, it's all on the card. We have control measures and bodies at our disposal.”
“It is said that gambling operators in Brazil no longer even have where to store money, it's at home, apartment, suitcase… If it were easy to launder money, were they supporting the legalization of gambling? I have been talking to Federal Police specialists and they have told me that this possibility is practically zero. Also because it is easier to launder money in jewelry and no one advocates closing jewelry stores," added the deputy.
For him, the activity only increases in Brazil. And traffickers and militias are taking by force the gaming points that exist. Things have to be transparent. “Gambling is a very sensitive economic activity and we need security, control, inspection. If we don't legalize it, that's what leads to corruption,” he warned.
About the tourism potential of the sector, Bacelar thinks that it does not attract tourists. “Nobody goes to a city to play. But the tourist stays one more day to play. The activity holds the tourist one more day in the city. But we're not just legalizing casino. We are legalizing jogo do bicho, online gaming… Without this legalization, we are not making money, losing billions in revenue and without consumer protection,” he concluded.
Source: GMB
