The president of the Chamber, Arthur Lira, outlined, this Monday (13), a proposal on the release of betting games, namely casino, bingo, jogo-do-bicho, fixed-rate betting, turf betting and skill games. But on the same day, the President of the Republic, Jair Bolsonaro, reiterated to evangelical leaders that he will veto the bill, if the text passes the Congress.
The deputies’ argument in favor of releasing all types of games is that it will increase tax collection and encourage tourism. Bolsonaro assumed with the evangelicals the commitment to stop the measure, and some guarantee that the speech is only to please his “faithful” followers of the Bible bench.
According to statements by Arthur Lira, the project may be voted on in the plenary of the Chamber this week. On other occasions, Bolsonaro said he would veto the project. “If by chance it approves, I have my veto, which is natural, and then Congress can overturn the veto,” he said.
According to statements by Arthur Lira, the project may be voted on in the plenary of the Chamber this week. On other occasions, Bolsonaro said he would veto the project. “If by chance it approves, I have my veto, which is natural, and then Congress can overturn the veto,” he said.
The Chamber of Deputies recently withdrew from voting on an urgent request for the bill that would legalize gambling games (bingo, animal game, casino and sports betting).
The request had been on the agenda for some time, but was withdrawn due to the lack of a quorum, after strong pressure from the evangelical bench, which is against legalization.
If the request were voted on and approved, the process would skip some steps — the text would be analyzed directly by the Plenary without going through commissions. To approve the request, 257 votes would be needed, a number higher than the 162 congressmen registered at the opening of the session. The Evangelical Parliamentary Front is formed by 107 deputies.
The legalization text has not yet been presented and is in the hands of the working group created by the president of the Chamber, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), in September.
The bill defines gambling and skill games as economic activities that will be regulated and supervised by a federal agency (which would likely be a regulatory agency). Interested companies would have to buy a license at auction to explore the different modalities.
