Deputy Bacelar defends the legalization of gambling.

The Chamber's Participatory Legislation Committee held a public hearing last Tuesday (3) to discuss the regulation of gambling in Brazil. Deputy Bacelar (Pode-BA), coordinator of the Mixed Parliamentary Front for the approval of the Regulatory Framework for Games, defended the legalization of the activity throughout the national territory.

He highlighted the economic gains in tax revenue, job creation, and tourism that would occur if all gambling were to become legal again.

"In a country where jobs are not being created, with 14 million unemployed, giving up R$ 20 billion in taxes and 650 jobs is not a smart move," he said.

Bacelar also pointed out that gambling is legal in much of the world, including developed countries.

History of prohibition
In Brazil, the activity has been prohibited since 1946, by a decree-law (9.215/46) from then-President Eurico Gaspar Dutra.

At the time, the newly elected president argued that the "moral, legal, and religious tradition" of Brazilians was incompatible with gambling. There is also a theory that Dutra was convinced by his wife, Dona Santinha, a devout Catholic, to abolish gambling dens in the country.

To defend keeping what he called "gambling" illegal, Roberto Lasserre, representative of the Brazil Without Gambling movement, questioned the benefits that gambling would bring to society.

Representing the Ministry of Economy at the hearing, Waldir Eustáquio Marques Junior said that the government does not have a defined position on the matter and that it would respect the decision of Parliament. (With Agência Câmara )