Brazil’s Casino Legalization Push Nears Potential Decision
Brazil’s long-awaited attempt to legalize casinos may finally reach a resolution this week.
The Brazilian Senate is scheduled to vote on casino legalization on Tuesday of this week.
While Brazil licensed online gambling on January 1st, the bill to legalize land-based casinos has faced multiple delays, despite prior approval by the Constitution, Justice and Citizenship Committee.
However, it now appears that Bill PL 2,234/2022 will proceed to a Senate vote after the house speaker, Davi Alcolumbre, listed it as the fourth item on the agenda for the session on July 8th.
If approved by the Senate, the bill will then go to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva for final approval, although the president is not expected to oppose the policy.
General Support for Casino Operation in Brazil
The licensing of the online gambling sector has faced criticism due to concerns about its impact on addiction levels and household debt.
However, a national survey by DataSenado in April reported that 60% of the Brazilian adult population supports the casino legalization bill.
Much of the political support for casinos in Brazil stems from the potential economic benefits the industry could offer.
Some estimates suggest that legalization could generate around R$ 20 billion ($3.5 billion) in annual revenue.
When asked if legalizing land-based gambling would stimulate tax collection, 58% of DataSenado respondents agreed, while 22% believed there would be no impact.
Furthermore, 44% of those surveyed believed that legalization would bring more job opportunities to Brazil.
With the Brazilian government raising the tax rate on operators’ GGR (gross gaming revenue) from 12% to 18%, some in the sector suggest casino legalization as a way to increase revenue collection.
However, there is still some opposition to casino legalization, notably from Senator Eduardo Girão, a long-time critic of gambling.
Eduardo has argued that recent media reports highlighting an increase in money laundering prove that the casino bill should not proceed.
“You can read the headlines from O Globo, Estadão, and Folha recently, showing that organized crime has never laundered so much money, never profited so much from the advent of gambling,” Eduardo stated in June. “And what is the problem in Brazil today? Basically, it’s public safety.”
“The Lula government, which claims to protect the less fortunate and the poorest, can correct this mistake of betting, by not allowing more gambling to take place.”
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