The new Chamber of Deputies arrives divided on gambling, with 277 representatives lacking a history of voting on the issue.

The Chamber of Deputies elected on Sunday (4) will take office in February 2027 without a majority formed on the legalization of gambling. A survey by BNLData shows that, of the 513 elected, only 157 participated in the vote on PL 442/91, the regulatory framework for gambling, in February 2022. Of these, 87 voted in favor and 70 against.

The other 356 elected members do not have their votes registered in that session because they were not in office or were absent. The bill, which legalizes casinos, bingo, and the jogo do bicho (a type of illegal lottery), was approved at the time by 246 votes to 202 and is currently being processed as Bill 2.234/22 in the Senate Plenary. If the senators amend the text, it returns to the Chamber of Deputies and will be decided by this new composition.

The survey separates two topics that are often treated as one: gambling under Bill 442/91 and fixed-odds betting and online games, or bets, regulated by Bill 3.626/23, which became Law 14.790/2023.

Those who vote in favor of gambling don't always vote in favor of betting.

Among the 67 elected officials who voted on both matters, 16 changed sides. Eleven supported gambling in 2022 and rejected the regulation of betting in 2023, including Altineu Côrtes (PL-RJ), Soraya Santos (PL-RJ), Magda Mofatto (PL-GO), Rosana Valle (PL-SP), and Alceu Moreira (MDB-RS). Five took the opposite path, such as Aguinaldo Ribeiro (PP-PB), Gutemberg Reis (MDB-RJ), and Célio Studart (PSD-CE).

In the vote on the party lists, on December 21, 2023, the text passed with 292 votes to 114. The survey has so far identified the votes of 146 elected officials: 87 in favor and 59 against. The nominal count of this axis is still incomplete for PT, União, Republicanos, PSDB, PSOL, PV, Rede and Solidariedade.

The 2023 vote calls for caution in its interpretation. That session was to vote on the regulation and taxation of the sector, a proposal from Lula's own government. The PT caucus voted unanimously in favor among those present, while the PL, currently the largest caucus in the House, instructed its members to vote against. Of the 53 elected PL members whose votes were identified, 41 rejected the text.

PL and PT concentrate the votes against the games.

In the area of ​​gambling, resistance comes from the two largest blocs. In the PT (Workers' Party), 18 of the 19 elected members who voted in 2022 were against. In the PL (Liberal Party), there were 19 against and 16 in favor, a division that reflects the weight of the evangelical bloc in the party. The most consistent support comes from the PP (Progressive Party) (13 to 2), the MDB (Brazilian Democratic Movement) (9 to 3), and the PCdoB (Communist Party of Brazil) (5 to 1).

The two rapporteurs for the bills remain in the House: Felipe Carreras (PSB-PE), for Bill 442/91, and Adolfo Viana (PSDB-BA), for the Bets Bill.

Most of it is an unknown quantity.

The most relevant data for the sector is the size of the group without a history: 277 elected officials, 54% of the Chamber, have never voted on either of the two matters. In the PL party, this figure is 60 out of 123 deputies; in the PT party, 47 out of 69; and in the União party, 31 out of 46.

This bloc will determine the fate of the gaming framework, should the text return from the Senate, and of the government's proposals to ban online betting. BNLData continues to investigate the positions of these parliamentarians in campaign materials, public statements, and authored bills.

Chart: How the elected representatives from the largest blocs voted

 

Survey methodology

Gambling: vote on the main text of Bill 442/91 on 2/23/2022. Betting: vote on the Senate amendments to Bill 3.626/23 on 12/21/2023. The party is the one from the 2026 election; the vote was cast for the party at that time. The list of elected officials is the one published in the press on 10/5/2026 and is still subject to verification by the TSE (Superior Electoral Court).

Sources: Research on news websites, Congresso em Foco (PL 442/91); ComoVotou.org and Agência Câmara (PL 3.626/23).