A law at the end of 2018 allowed sports betting sites, which went on to experience a boom and sponsor almost all the main men's and women's football teams in Brazil. But the regulation of the market is still on paper.
Without clear rules, companies have operated these sites from outside Brazil, free of local taxes. Meanwhile, other types of gambling, such as bingos and casinos, remain prohibited in the country.
The Lula government's decision to regulate the taxation of sports betting stimulated the return of the discussion on the legalization and regulation of games of chance in general, such as jogo do bicho, bingos and casinos.
The argument of businessmen who want to invest in the sector is that these activities continue to proliferate across the country, albeit illegally, but without generating revenue for the public coffers.
When speaking about new sources of resources for Brazil, Pacheco mentioned the legalization of the activity is an alternative.
"There are projects for legal frameworks under debate, such as the legalization of gaming and sports betting, which can be the path to sustainable revenue," he said.
A project that legalizes gambling has already been approved by the House in 2022 and is awaiting a vote in the Senate. That is, it is up to Pacheco to put the proposal to a vote. The mayor, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), is a strong advocate of legalization.
"Gaming, an extraordinary source of jobs, an extraordinary source of income. It exists everywhere in the country, in all cities in Brazil and we do not regulate it," he said in March.
Pacheco told BBC News Brasil that the project that legalizes gambling will be put on the voting agenda in the next two months, between May and June.
“We want to speed up the vote on all these projects that generate revenue and one of these projects is the one that legalizes gambling, which has already passed in the Chamber,” he said.
But the legalization of the sector also faces strong opposition from sectors of Congress, mainly from the evangelical group, who want to maintain the ban.
Pacheco participates in London in a conference on Brazil organized by Lide, an organization created by the former mayor of São Paulo João Doria Júnior.
Ban on gambling started in 1946
The gambling market was banned in Brazil in 1946, under the government of Eurico Gaspar Dutra, on the grounds that it would be harmful to morals and good customs. Until then, casinos operated in Brazil and were popular entertainment venues, offering concerts and restaurants.
The sector attributes the delay in regulation to opposition from conservative groups, especially the evangelical segment, which was widely heard by former President Jair Bolsonaro.
The theme was once again underway in the new government, eager for new sources of revenue to pay for the increase in social spending and works, promised by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Source: BBC
