Operator News
Brazil – Poll on Gambling Bill in Brazil extended
By Phil - 19 April 2022
DataSenado the research institute for the Brazilian Senate has extended the deadline for a national poll on gambling. The institute had planned to close the poll in April 1 but it has extended the deadline until May 2.
The bill asks for opinions on a gambling bill put forward by Senator Roberto Rocha: Bill 2648/2019. The bill would allow casinos in both integrated resorts and outside them. According to the senator, the bill if passed would generate between R$50 billion to R$80 billion in revenue and generate 700 thousand direct jobs.
The senator also argued that green lighting casinos and other forms of gambling such as legalising the so called “Jogo do Bicho” or “Animal Game” would help fund a recently launched social welfare programme. Municipal governments would also earn extra money with the construction of the new casinos he said. In October 2020 the Federal Senate’s Committee on Regional Development and Tourism (CDR) gave a favourable opinion on Senator Rocha’s bill. The rapporteur of the bill in the CDR is Senator Angelo Coronel – a long time supporter of a gambling expansion.
The survey begins by outlining the most recent developments of gambling legislation in the House namely the passing of Bill No. 442, of 1991, by the Chamber of Deputies. The regulation of games of chance in Brazil is still pending debate in the Senate. Bill 442/1991 replaces and is in part an amalgamation of as many as twenty other gambling related projects all of which have been discussed since 1991. The bill allows for casinos, bingo halls, the Animal Game and online gaming.
The questions that make up the survey are as follows:
- Do you agree or disagree with the legalization of gambling in Brazil?
- In your opinion, will the exploitation of games of chance associated with resorts and leisure complexes be positive for the growth of tourism in Brazil?
- In your opinion, will the exploitation of games of chance increase tax collection in Brazil?
- With the approval of PL no. 2648, of 2019, will jobs in Brazil increase, will they be maintained, will they decrease, or do you not know?
- In your opinion, what is the main impact of the legalization of gambling for Brazilian families?
- In your opinion, the legalization of games of chance brings to the country: advantages, disadvantages or pros and cons in equal proportion?
The survey is the latest in what could well be yet another attempt by lawmakers to punt the issue farther down the line as elections loom. General elections are scheduled to be held in Brazil on 2 October 2022 to elect the President, Vice President, and members of the National Congress. The evangelical caucus is against gambling and President Jair Bolsonaro has said that he will veto any pro gambling bill as he seeks to reassure his evangelical base. A divide over gambling would damage the president’s image and end up benefiting more left-wing political opponents, such as former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Conservative evangelicals have been a key constituency of Bolsonaro, who is trailing Lula. Lula’s Workers Party governed Brazil from 2003 to 2016, and he maintains a 13-15 point poll lead.
