Bill 2.234/2022 was approved by the Senate's Constitution and Justice Commission (CCJ) with 14 votes in favor and 12 against. Theoretically, it could go to the Plenary, according to the House's procedures, but President Rodrigo Pacheco is already facing pressure from opponents of legal gambling, especially evangelicals, to have the matter reviewed by other commissions before it goes to a Plenary vote.
"The debate about casinos will, with all certainty, likely end up here in some way due to the precarious functioning of other societal instances," said the minister.
Flávio Dino made the statement during a judgment in which the Supreme Federal Court could decriminalize the possession of marijuana for personal use.
He said: “And what is the problem with gambling, with casinos? It is this potential interface with organized crime.”
Bill 2.234/2022, originating from the Chamber of Deputies, authorizes the establishment of casinos in tourist hubs, resorts, and high-standard hotels with at least one hundred rooms, with a limit of three establishments in São Paulo, two in Rio de Janeiro, Amazonas, and Pará, and one in the other states.
Bingo halls, on the other hand, could operate permanently in specific locations and be run by companies with at least R$ 10 million (US$ 1,85m) in share capital.
In the case of the jogo do bicho, each state would have one licensed company for every 700,000 inhabitants.
The legalization of casinos and bingo halls in Brazil could result in R$ 100 billion (US$ 18.5bn) in investments, the creation of 1.5 million jobs, and an annual revenue of R$ 22 billion (US$ 4bn).
The proposal also provides for the creation of two taxes to be paid by the establishments: the Gaming and Betting Oversight Fee (Tafija) and the Contribution for Intervention in the Economic Domain on the commercialization of games and bets (Cide-Jogos).
Source: GMB / CartaCapital
