Due to the controversy, the forecast is that PL 442, of 1991, passed through several commissions before reaching the Plenary, and a special commission will be created for the discussion. It is up to the president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), to decide.

Sensitive to external requests from religious parliamentarians who speak out against the legalization of activities, there is a possibility that the text will go to the drawer.

The Korean evangelical caucus against legalization. Within Pacheco's party, the assessment is of difficulty in approving the text, which requires a broad debate. The largest caucus in the Senate, the MDB, should take a majority position against the issue. The CNBB (of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil) has also articulated itself to prohibit the debate.

The deputy head of government, Senator Carlos Viana (MDB-MG), has already spoken out against it. “International experience shows that the big casinos are used for money laundering, drug trafficking and prostitution. The control of this sector is very difficult”, justified Viana, considering that, despite the fact that legalization has the potential to bring income to the country, the losses with the increase in spending on public health and the fight against organized crime would not compensate.

The leader of Podemos, Álvaro Dias (PR), has not yet confirmed an orientation from the bench and believes that as of Tuesday a broad debate will take over the corridors, and there may be a articulation capable of moving the matter forward. Within the party, however, there are senators who are already moving behind the scenes to stop the proposal, as is the case of Eduardo Girão (CE).

“It is an extremely meaningless topic at the moment, a change of priorities. We are seeing high unemployment, hunger, inflation and this project does nothing about it. I believe that we can reverse the result of the Chamber, since the opposing arguments are very consistent”, defended Girão, highlighting the support of the control and inspection entities in Brazil that aim at facilitating organized crime.

Without a defined orientation from the base, even if the project passes, the expectation is that it will be vetoed by President Jair Bolsonaro. Publicly, he has said he will not legalize gambling, but believes Congress can override the veto. In contrast to the negative, the government has not moved to prevent the proposal from taking hold in the Senate, increasing the possibility of future approval, as it did in the House.

In an opposite movement, Senator Angelo Coronel (PSD-BA) appears as a spokesman in favor of the issue within the Senate and is already beginning to articulate, even together with Pacheco, a party colleague, in an attempt to unblock the debate.

“I will defend myself, I am in favor of legalization. The economic powers of the world, with the exception of Indonesia and Saudi Arabia, which are part of the G20, have a legal game, as do the Mercosur countries, with the exception of Brazil. We have to treat the game as an economic activity, not as always, "he argued.

Rapporteur of a project with the same theme, Angelo wants to promote a combination of materials that focus on the theme in a single text. He has already volunteered to be the official articulator of the Chamber in defense of the legalization of games. "If you give me the mission, the report will be without problem." The parliamentary strategy is to show that the activities already exist and that legalization generates new sources of income for the State, which can be reverted into public policies.

“If it is working, it generates jobs and income for so many countries in the world, why are we going to stop generating this income? We are not inventing the game, it already exists in the daily life of Brazilian society. Only clandestinely. So those who are against legalization are in favor of keeping it underground,” he said.

The PSD, however, does not yet have a position. "The issue requires a broad and deep debate and we are going to dedicate ourselves to studying the project within the PSD," says the bench.

PL 442, approved by the Chamber, provides for the granting of licenses for various types of games of chance, as well as the legalization of a casino for each state within the large resorts. States with a population between 15 and 25 million inhabitants have two licenses for casinos and three for states with more than 25 million inhabitants. The project also provides for the exploitation of riverboat casinos and an additional license for the states of Pará and Amazonas due to the territorial dimensions.

For bingos, the limit is 400 machines per establishment, with one house per 150,000 inhabitants per municipality and paid capital of R$ 10 million. The stadiums will also be able to offer the modality.

The bug game is also licensed, subordinating the number of permits to population criteria: one for every 700,000 inhabitants. Online games can be exploited through accreditation with the Ministry of Economy.

On the other hand, the text provides for the collection of the tax resulting from the exploitation, creating the Cide-Jogos, with a rate set at 17% for the games and the inspection fee for the issuance of the license. The funds will be allocated to the implementation of public policies, with forecast transfers to the states and municipalities, to Embratur and to the national funds for security, culture, student financing and for children and adolescents.