MAR 4 DE MARZO DE 2025 - 02:38hs.
Letter to the Justice Ministry

Brazil’s Federal Police seek to block regulation of bingo and casinos in Congress

The Federal Police (PF) sent the Ministry of Justice and Public Security (MJSP) a list of priorities for 2025 in the National Congress. The document, which CNN had access to, shows that the PF disapproves of the proposal that regulates “gambling” and “betting.” At the same time, the agents list a bill to combat illegal gold as a priority for approval.

The list of projects of interest or not of interest for approval was sent to compile a survey of the agendas that are being processed in the Legislature. The document is signed by the deputy director general of the PF, Wiliam Murad.

The agents' analysis places 20 projects with priority for approval and 24 that are not of interest for approval.

Regulation of gambling

Among the projects listed as “not of interest” is the proposal that regulates bingo and casinos in the country. Bill 2234/2022 was presented to the Senate plenary with a request for urgency, but was removed from the agenda.

The decision on the project will be made by the new board of directors of the House. The favorite to assume the presidency of the Senate is Davi Alcolumbre (União-AP), who is in favor of the legalization of casinos and bingo in Brazil. The Bill was processed by the Constitution and Justice Committee (CCJ) while Alcolumbre was president of the committee and the project was approved thanks, also, to his dialogue with his peers on the CCJ.

The Federal Police are concerned about the possibility of crimes such as money laundering in this sector.

Projects of interest for approval

Among the proposals that the PF lists as positive is the project that conditions the commercialization of gold in Brazil to the existence of mining and environmental backing. Bill 836/2021 was approved in the Senate last year, attached to a proposal in the Chamber of Deputies, and awaits the creation of a temporary committee to discuss the matter.

The fight against illegal mining in the North region is one of the main areas of action of the PF in the Amazon. The assessment is that the lack of gold backing in the trade is one of the “facilitators” for the crime of mining without authorization.

Another positive agenda, according to the assessment of the current management, is that it classifies attacks on bank branches with sieges of small and medium-sized cities, a technique known as “new cangaço”, as an act of terrorism. This bill (PL 610/2022) is in the Senate Public Security Committee and awaits the report of Senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ).

Source: GMB / CNN