Following attacks from Malafaia, Moro changes his stance on gambling and denies the pastor's influence.

Senator Sergio Moro (Podemos-PR) announced this Wednesday that he has changed his position on the legalization of gambling and will vote against the proposal. In June, he was one of the parliamentarians who voted in favor of the bill in the Constitution and Justice Committee (CCJ), reveals Bela Megale in Globo Online.

The former judge's new stance comes after a movement by religious leaders against the project. One of the most forceful oppositions was made by Pastor Silas Malafaia, who directly insulted Moro in a video released online.

"The biggest shame is Sérgio Moro. The judge who symbolized the fight against corruption voted in favor of this garbage. Both he and I know that gambling is the biggest culprit in money laundering for drug trafficking, organized crime, and corruption. What a shame, Sérgio Moro. Tearing up your history. The people of Paraná should never vote for this guy again," said Malafaia.

Neo-Pentecostal churches are often seen as a kind of "competitor" to gambling due to their supposed interest in concentrating the tithes of their members. The logic is that people with more debt end up donating less to the churches.

When contacted for comment, Moro said that the pastor's stance was "irrelevant" to his change of position.

"I ignore his (Malafaia's) insults and find them regrettable," he stated.

The senator said he changed his stance after being approached by the Secretary-General of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (CNBB), Ricardo Hoepers, and by the Council of Evangelical Ministers of Paraná (Comep). The entities "argued and requested, without offense," Moro emphasized.

"Since the CCJ (Committee on Constitution, Justice and Citizenship), the epidemic of illegal gambling has surfaced, and I've come to consider it imprudent to take another step in expanding gambling modalities in Brazil. As long as the epidemic of illegal gambling, which in my view stems from aggressive and illegal advertising, remains unresolved, there's no way to move forward and approve casinos and bingo halls, which are subject to the same vulnerability," said the senator.

The bill to legalize gambling was scheduled to be voted on this Wednesday in the Senate plenary session, but it was postponed. The opposition filed a request for more information.