Brazil: Which games may be legalised under Lula's government?

The legalisation of the gambling industry is one of the issues that Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's government will have to address during its term in office.

The new leadership is willing to touch on an issue that has always met with resistance from the conservative, especially religious, electorate. The possibility of referring the regulation was even contemplated in the report of the transition team's tourism group.

The modalities of the market, however, are still in different stages of regularisation under Brazilian law. Gambling, as the industry is called, has seven main aspects: traditional lottery, turf betting, fixed odds betting (when the bettor knows how much he/she will win if he/she hits the jackpot), "jogo do bicho" (popular bingo with Brazilian animals), bingo, casinos and online betting.

The first two are legalised and regulated by law. Betting on the traditional lottery, in forms such as the popular Mega Sena, and on turf, a sport that promotes horse racing, is permitted in Brazil.

The third on the list, fixed odds betting, is in limbo. Fixed odds betting was legalised by a law sanctioned by President Michel Temer in 2018, but is still not regulated, which should have happened within four years. This means that the activity, in practice, cannot yet be fully exercised on Brazilian territory without falling under the Criminal Law of Misdemeanours.

Fixed-odds betting has become popular as sports betting, and turns over billions of reais without operating with Brazilian CNPJs or being subject to inspection or taxation by Brazilian agencies. However, they are one step away from regulation: a decree or MP signed by the president is sufficient, without the need for congressional approval.

The remaining four - jogo do bicho, bingo, casino and online gambling - have a longer road ahead of them, as none of them is legalised in the Constitution. Therefore, their authorisation would have to be regulated in a bill, which needs the approval of Congress. This PL exists: it is PL 442/91, which has already been approved in the Chamber of Deputies, under the rapporteurship of Federal Deputy Felipe Carreras (PSB-PE), and should be discussed in the Senate during this first half of the year.

The text allows, in general terms, the legal establishment of companies in Brazil that operate games of chance, bingo and videobingo, in addition to authorising the construction of casinos in hotels and resorts and giving the green light to ".com.br" websites to offer online gambling in the country. Since 1946, any such activity has been banned in Brazil.

To give an idea of the delay, the bill was created more than thirty years ago (it dates back to 1991) and, after its passage through Parliament, it is now in the hands of the Senate President, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), as of March 2022. In almost a year, not even a rapporteur for the issue has been appointed in the House.

If approved by the senators, the law would have to be sanctioned by the President of the Republic and then regulated via decree, which could take years after sanction, as is the case with fixed-odds betting.

By Diogo Magri