After several weeks of discussion, the Senate's Constitution and Justice Commission (CCJ) approved this Wednesday (19), Bill 2.234/2022, which revises the legislation on gambling in the country, authorizing the operation of casinos, bingo, jogo do bicho and other betting games in Brazil.
Caio de Souza Loureiro, a partner in the Gaming & E-sports area at TozziniFreire Advogados, states that by allowing the exploitation of various gaming modalities, including casinos, Bill 2.234 places Brazil alongside several countries that already permit these activities. According to the lawyer, the outdated legislation from 1946 ignores the institutional advancements in monitoring and regulating games on a global scale.
"Today, global companies with strict security and compliance policies - some of them listed on stock exchanges - operate in various countries, generating employment and paying taxes. Brazil, until now, has been excluded from this scenario, suffering the consequences of a lack of regulation," explains Loureiro.
Loureiro believes it is naive to think that prohibition eliminates the problems cited by opponents of legalization. "Institutionalizing gambling will allow for greater control, including actions to combat gambling addiction and money laundering, issues that are already a reality in the country and that nearly 80 years of prohibition have not managed to prevent."
Jun Makuta, a partner in the Gaming & E-sports area at TozziniFreire Advogados, in response to the many non-technical arguments of a religious and moral nature used as heavy artillery against the Bill, highlights that it is possible to find examples worldwide of the relaxation of religious precepts that initially impede the development of gambling.
"A great example is the United Arab Emirates, which, despite being governed by strict Islamic law that considers gambling a sin, opted for economic and financial pragmatism. They recently abandoned pure and simple prohibition to allow the construction of the first physical casino in Arab territory, which is expected to begin operations in less than two years under the Wynn group brand on an island specially built to house a casino-resort," says Makuta.
Source: GMB
