Bill to legalize casinos in Brazil approved after long back and forth

After years of back and forth, the Brazilian Justice Committee has approved draft law 2.234/2022 to legalize casinos. Such gambling houses have been banned in the country since 1946. This historic decision marks the end of a long and often controversial road.

Supporters of the law emphasize the potential economic benefits, including the creation of new jobs, increasing tax revenues and the promotion of tourism. They argue that Brazil can compete with other tourist-attractive countries by offering luxurious casino resorts that attract international visitors.

Critics, on the other hand, express concerns about the social impact, such as the risk of increased gambling addiction and possible involvement in criminal activities. Despite these objections, the bill was ultimately approved by a majority, heralding the beginning of a new era of gambling in Brazil in which casinos could be allowed again after decades.

“Could” because, on the one hand, the decision was not very clear and, on the other hand, the legalization of casinos with the approval of the Justice Committee is still not 100 percent a done deal. Other institutions must give the green light.

This is what the bill allows

The now approved bill, marked “2.234/2022”, includes a large number of regulations for the legalization and regulation of gambling in Brazil. In particular, it allows the operation of casinos and lottery games and also allows betting on horse races on site.

A central component of the bill is the permission to build casinos in tourist areas or in integrated leisure complexes that meet certain criteria. These include, for example, upscale hotels with at least 100 rooms that also have restaurants, bars and venues for conferences and cultural events.

The bill also stipulates that every Brazilian state and the federal district are entitled to operate at least one casino. However, there are exceptions: In the state of São Paulo, up to three casinos may be operated, while in Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, Amazonas and Pará, up to two casinos are permitted each.

Despite this progress, some key decisions are still pending. Nothing can be done without the approval of the Chamber of Deputies, the Senate and the President. The date when the bill will be voted on in the plenary session of the House of Representatives is still uncertain. This decision is in the hands of the President of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco.

The narrow result indicates further resistance

Senator Irajá of the social democratic Partido Social Democrático spoke out in particular in favour of approving the bill. However, there are still many critics. In fact, the decision was made with only 14 votes in favour and 12 against, which is anything but clear. The narrow result clearly indicates that the matter could still face some resistance. Approval in the plenary session of the Chamber of Deputies is therefore at risk.

Eduardo Girão of the right-liberal Novo explained in this context that several senators who had positioned themselves as clear opponents of the bill in the past did not attend the relevant session and vote. This would clearly have contributed to the approval of the law.

Irajá nevertheless sees many positive aspects – he once again speaks of the great advantages for Brazilian tourism:

“This is a very important project for Brazil because it will change tourism. Unfortunately, Brazil is not well positioned as one of the international tourism routes worldwide – and this is a great opportunity for us to create tourist complexes here, such as integrated resorts, which are successful models all over the world and which countries that compete with Brazil have already adopted for decades.”

He also points out the financial support for the population and the opportunity for tax revenue:

“It is an opportunity for Brazil to create jobs, generate income and, above all, generate taxes from these games that are present in the lives of Brazilians and that unfortunately do not bring any benefit to our population.”

In his second statement, Irajá obviously also addresses the fact that thousands or even millions of reais are currently being turned over through illegal lotteries, dice and other games. The state does not benefit from this.

Chamber of Deputies, Senate and President still have to give their go-ahead

In Brazil, a bill goes through several phases before it can come into force. After approval by the Justice Committee, the following steps are necessary:

• Chamber of Deputies: After the Justice Committee has approved the bill, it must be submitted to the Chamber of Deputies (Câmara dos Deputados). The Chamber of Deputies discusses and votes on the bill. Here the bill can be accepted, rejected or amended.
• Senate: If the Chamber of Deputies approves the bill, it is sent to the Senate (Senado Federal). The Senate also examines, discusses and votes on the bill. Here, too, changes can be made. If the Senate makes changes, the bill must go back to the Chamber of Deputies for further voting.
• President: After approval by both the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, the bill is sent to the President of the Republic. The President has the option of signing the bill and thus enacting it or vetoing it.
• Veto override (if necessary): If the President vetoes the bill, Congress (consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate) can override the veto with an absolute majority in both chambers to enact the bill anyway.

Conclusion

The legalization of casinos in Brazil has come a lot closer with the approval of bill 2.234/2022, but it is still not complete. The wheels of politics, i.e. MPs, lawyers and all other bodies involved grind slowly. Of course, detailed coordination of laws makes sense – corresponding decisions are important democratic processes. However, Brazil is having a noticeably difficult time with casino legalization. As already mentioned in our last post, we reported in March 2022 that gambling legalization is progressing in Brazil, and casinos were also a topic.