Bolsonaro-supporting parliamentarians claim health reasons to oppose the bill that authorizes the operation of casinos in Brazil. For them, the measure would worsen the already serious problem of gambling addiction.
It is touching to see these people, who pontificated against vaccines when 4,000 Brazilians were dying per day from Covid-19, now concerned about public health. It is never too late to convert to evidence-based medicine.
Even if we admit this more benign hypothesis, it is necessary to recognize that there is something wrong with the timing of these congressmen. Today, any individual with a smartphone and a credit card already carries a casino in their pocket, having unrestricted access, on both Brazilian and foreign websites, to any known or yet-to-be-invented gambling modality. Moreover, by procrastinating for several years the 'nationalization' of betting on sports results, Parliament caused the Treasury to lose a considerable amount of tax revenue, which flowed to other countries.
The difference between casinos and the status quo is that the former still generate some jobs, such as croupiers, waiters, and prostitutes (in Brazil, this activity is legal, it is worth remembering), which do not exist in the virtual modality.
The problem of pathological gambling is real. And the more betting opportunities there are, the more people will fall into compulsive behavior patterns. But the adult response to these issues is not prohibition, which, by the way, sounds pathetic in a world with the internet. Dealing with one's compulsions is an individual burden. One of the most widespread mental health problems in Brazil is alcoholism, but no one seriously argues that closing all the country's bars is the solution.
As I always say here, we need to be minimally consistent. It is not possible to invoke the principle of individual autonomy to justify the legalization of drugs and abortion, but ignore it when the subject is gambling.
Hélio Schwartsman,
Column in Folha de São Paulo
