Brazil: Legalisation of casinos and gambling is on the Senate's agenda

Bill 2.234/2022 (Bill 442/1991 in the Chamber) was presented in 1991 by then federal deputy Renato Vianna. Approved by the House more than 30 years later, in 2022, the bill was sent to the Senate, where it was approved by the Constitution and Justice Committee (CCJ) in June 2024. Its inclusion on the Plenary agenda was a demand of parliamentarians, according to the President of the House, Senator Rodrigo Pacheco.

"It's something that has already come from the House, it has the support of the government, the support of various segments. And the Senate needs to decide whether or not to approve it. That's why several senators asked at the leaders' meeting that it be submitted to the Plenary, not least because it has already been considered by the CCJ - explained Pacheco in an interview last week.

The bill provides for the creation of two taxes whose collection will be shared with states, the Federal District, municipalities, the Brazilian International Tourism Promotion Agency (Embratur) and sports and culture funds. According to the rapporteur, Senator Irajá (PSD-TO), the various types of gambling currently considered illegal would have generated between R$14.3 billion and R$31.5 billion by 2023. The estimate was based on data from 2014 and updated for inflation. With legalisation, the government would collect money.

The planned rules are specific to different types of games. According to the rapporteur, by setting numerical limits on the number of commercial establishments that can offer casinos, bingos and games of chance, the bill ‘facilitates inspection by the Ministry of Finance and allows for greater state control of any negative externalities’.

Parliamentarians opposed to the text say that the bill could encourage ludopathy (addiction to gambling) and crimes such as money laundering, trafficking and prostitution. 

Rules promise to make scams more difficult

The bill's rapporteur, Senator Irajá (PSD-TO), has said that the text prevents the rampant opening of bookmakers across the country and that betting will only be allowed via Pix and debit card, excluding the possibility of players paying in cash.

According to him, this will facilitate the work of auditing companies and the inspection of public bodies.

Some of the main points of the bill:

• Establishment of casinos in tourist centres or integrated leisure complexes (such as resorts or high-end hotels with at least 100 rooms);
• Maximum number of casinos per state, in the following proportion (according to population and territory): up to three casinos in SP; up to two casinos in MG, RJ, AM and PA; up to one casino in the other states and the Federal District;
• Each casino must prove paid-in capital of at least R$100 million and can be accredited for 30 years;
• Sea vessels (a limit of ten in the country) and river vessels with at least 50 rooms may also house casinos. Riverboats may not anchor in the same place for more than 30 days at a time;
• Jogo do bicho: one bingo parlour for every 700,000 inhabitants per state;
• Bingo: one bingo parlour for every 150,000 inhabitants per city;
• Horse racing: establishments may operate bingos and videobingos.

Risk of lack of control

The main argument against approving casinos is that the lack of proper oversight will make it easier for criminal organisations to launder money on a large scale, since Brazil is a country that has a hard time fighting organised crime.

Senator Flavio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ) has already worked for the legalisation of casinos; he travelled to Las Vegas in the United States, met with big businessmen and recorded videos talking about the benefits of the sector for the country.

But officially he changed his position, following the lead of the evangelical caucus, his father and Silas Malafaia. He voted against the bill in the CCJ in the first half of the year.

Malafaia says that the tax revenue is less than the social damage that casinos can cause. ‘How can you open a bingo parlour in a region dominated by drug trafficking groups? They're the ones who are going to open it, now officially,’ he told the column in June.

The pastor also criticises senators who defend legalisation by making comparisons with first-world countries that have casinos, such as the United States and Singapore. ‘Making comparisons with powerful nations is a joke. We have a country with 90 per cent of the population earning up to five minimum wages.’