Brazil’s Senate postpones bill for casinos and bingo halls until 2025

Bruna Garcia December 6, 2024

SiGMA news

The Brazilian Senate postponed the vote on the bill that authorises the operation of casinos and bingo halls, legalises the jogo do bicho (animal gambling) and allows betting on horse races, among other games of chance, on Wednesday (04). The proposal was withdrawn at the request of the rapporteur, Irajá (PSD-TO), after a broad debate among senators on the bill’s progress. According to the Senate president, Rodrigo Pacheco, with this decision, the bill will only be voted on next year.

On the one hand, there was a request for urgency to vote on the matter (which was not voted on). On the other hand, there were requests for information from ministries and requests for Bill 2,234/2022 to be forwarded to three committees. With the withdrawal from the agenda, Pacheco reported that the bill will await responses from the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Development and Social Assistance, Family and Fight against Hunger, which should be delivered within 30 days.

Presented by Senator Flávio Arns (PSB-PR), the request asks for “projection data on the specific effects of the proposal on the services of psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers in the public health system for the treatment of gambling addiction problems.” Since the request for urgency was not approved, the presented amendments will have to be analysed by the Constitution and Justice Committee (CCJ) under the management of the next Board of Directors and the new chair of the committee.

Before requesting the withdrawal from the agenda, Senator Irajá pointed out that some of these games already operate in Brazil, but are clandestine. Senator Eduardo Girão (Novo-CE) defends responsible gambling controlled and monitored by the government, with tax collections and punishment for crime perpetrators. Two other senators asked for the project to be shelved.

Presented in 1991 by then federal deputy Renato Vianna, the project was approved by the Chamber more than 30 years later, in 2022. Sent to the Senate, the project passed through the Constitution and Justice Committee (CCJ) in June 2024 by a close vote: 14 votes to 12.

What does the project say?

Regarding casinos, the project authorises the installation of casinos in tourist centres or integrated leisure complexes, such as resorts and high-end hotels. Casinos may also be installed on sea vessels (limited to ten in the country) and on river vessels with at least 50 rooms, with the distribution of casinos on the vessels being proportional to the length of the rivers.

Each state and the Federal District may have one casino, with exceptions for São Paulo (up to three) and Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, Amazonas and Pará (up to two, due to the size of the population or territory).

The project also addresses the game of bingo, allowing it to be permanently operated in specific locations, including modalities such as card, electronic and video bingo. Each municipality may have one bingo hall, with the possibility of one establishment for every 150 thousand inhabitants in larger cities.

The rental of betting machines must be registered with the government and will undergo periodic audits. The revenue from gaming machines will be split 40% for the rental company and 60% for the bingo or casino establishment, based on the difference between the total bets made and the prizes paid.

Bets on horse races may be operated by horse racing entities accredited by the Ministry of Agriculture. These same organisations may simultaneously be accredited to operate bingo and video bingo games, as long as they are held at the same location as the horse races.

The creation of two new taxes for gaming operators is also planned: the Gaming and Betting Inspection Fee (Tafija) and the Contribution for Intervention in the Economic Domain on the sale of gaming and betting (Cide-Jogos). Betting houses will be exempt from other taxes and contributions.

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