With compliance measures in place, a bill seeks to legalize bingo, the jogo do bicho (a type of lottery), and casinos in resorts across the country.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), admitted this Tuesday (22) the resistance of parliamentarians from the so-called evangelical caucus to the approval of the bill that legalizes activities such as bingo, jogo do bicho and casinos in Brazil. However, the bill should go to a vote this week, the parliamentarian said.

“This is an issue that can bring foreign exchange, tourism, jobs, income, and revenue to the country, and it will be treated seriously. Is there opposition? Yes. Is there resistance? Yes. But these issues were very clearly discussed with the group I have great respect for, which is the evangelical group,” Lira declared this morning while participating in an event held by the BTG Pactual bank, which was attended by the Minister of Economy, Paulo Guedes.

According to Lira, Bill 442, which has been in the National Congress since 1991, should be on the Chamber's voting agenda between this Tuesday and Wednesday (23), “depending on the conversations we will have today, to adjust some things in the text”. The Plenary session this Tuesday is scheduled to begin at 13:55 pm. “We are doing the [political] work very calmly so that it will be approved”.

The substitute text to the original proposal, which was approved back in 2016, establishes that casinos must be installed in resorts, as part of an integrated leisure complex, taking into account the population size of the federative unit where they are located.

The substitute bill also allows bingo halls to operate in specific locations (bingo halls), as well as jockey clubs and football stadiums, and also, potentially, for fundraising for philanthropic, religious and charitable organizations.

However, until the discussion is concluded, parliamentarians can present amendments to modify the text approved by the special committee that dealt with the matter.

An enthusiast of the proposal, Lira stated that Parliament had not decided on the matter sooner only because of resistance from some sectors to the debate.

“Where in Brazil doesn’t gambling happen? We’ve had the jogo do bicho [illegal lottery] for ages. We have casinos—and I don’t mean to be rude, but in São Paulo alone there must be more than 300. We have online gambling—the Brazilian national [football] team itself is sponsored by a website that deals with online gambling, whose advertisements are all around football stadiums. You click on one of these sites and a virtual casino opens. Brazilians enter with their credit cards, play, bet, and the tax is paid in the United Kingdom or Germany. So, it’s pure demagoguery or the interests of certain sectarian groups who don’t want this debate to move forward,” Lira stated, denying that the bill is excessively permissive.

“No. It’s a strict rule, with clear compliance to avoid all the malicious versions that are being put forward regarding this issue,” the congressman stated, referring to the regulations that companies will have to comply with to be authorized to operate gambling. ( InfoMoney with Agência Brasil)