This Wednesday (4), the Senate decided to postpone the vote on the bill that aims to authorize the operation of casinos and bingos in Brazil (Casinos PL).
This proposal, which also considers the legalization of gambling and betting on horse races, was removed from the agenda at the request of the rapporteur, Senator Irajá (PSD-TO), after intense debates between the senators.
According to the president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco, the proposal will only be considered next year.
An urgent request for a vote was not approved, and information was requested from ministries so that PL 2,234/2022 could be forwarded to three committees.
Pacheco stated that, with the withdrawal from the agenda, the project awaits responses from the ministries of Health, Development and Social Assistance, and Family and Fight Against Hunger, scheduled for the next 30 days.
Voting on the Cassinos PL will be reviewed in the next administration
Senator Flávio Arns (PSB-PR) presented a request requesting “projection data on the specific effects of the proposal on the services of psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers in the public network for the treatment of gambling addiction problems”.
If the urgent request is not approved, the amendments will be approved by the Constitution and Justice Commission (CCJ) under new management. “The project was removed from the agenda,” said Pacheco. “It will inevitably be up to the next Board of Directors to define the developments regarding this project.”
Before withdrawing the agenda, Senator Irajá highlighted that some games already take place in Brazil clandestinely.
“We are experiencing a great dilemma in Brazil. There are those who defend the maintenance of gambling controlled and dominated by organized crime in the country.
And others like me who defend responsible gaming in the country, controlled by public authorities, which is supervised and which can also collect taxes and punish those who commit crimes”, argued Irajá.
Parliamentarians express concern about the project
Some of the senators requested further discussion on the topic, suggesting that the project be forwarded to the Social Affairs (CAS), Economic Affairs (CAE) and Public Security (CSP) committees.
Opposing parliamentarians expressed concern that the project could encourage problem gambling and crimes such as money laundering.
Senator Eduardo Girão (Novo-CE), said: “We had a signal from the bets, which we approved exactly a year ago here, and we made a mistake, and the error is there: shattered lives. And we cannot take a new step, make a new mistake, which could cause more problems than solutions.”
Some senators, such as Esperidião Amin (PP-SC) and Eliziane Gama (PSD-MA), asked for the proposal to be shelved. “I think the best way, by not approving the urgency request, is to shelve the project”, defended Eliziane.
Esperidião Amin commented that the project has been in “limbo” for years and could return at any time. “It [the project] was not resurrected, it never died: it was in purgatory, it was in limbo, waiting for an opportunity. Seven feet is not enough. It has to disappear,” he said.
Originally presented in 1991 by then federal deputy Renato Vianna, the project was only approved by the Chamber in 2022. Sent to the Senate, it passed through the CCJ in June 2024 with a tight score: 14 votes against 12.
What does the Casinos PL say?
- Casinos: The project allows the installation of casinos in tourist centers or in integrated leisure complexes, such as resorts and luxury hotels. It also allows casinos on sea vessels (limited to ten in the country) and on river ships with at least 50 rooms, with distribution proportional to the length of the rivers.
- Bingo: The game of bingo could be played permanently in designated locations, including modalities such as card, electronic and video bingo.
- Betting Machines: The rental of these machines must be registered with the public authorities and undergo periodic audits. The revenue will be divided into 40% for the rental company and 60% for the establishment.
- Betting on Horses: Allows betting on horse races by racing entities accredited by the Ministry of Agriculture.
- Taxes: Introduces two new taxes: the Gaming and Betting Inspection Tax (Tafija) and the Contribution for Intervention in the Economic Domain on the marketing of games and betting (Cide-Jogos). Betting houses will be exempt from other taxes.
