Brazil Senate land-based casinos vote expected this week
The Brazil Senate will vote on whether to legalise land-based casinos on Tuesday this week.
Brazil launched licensed online gambling on 1 January, but the bill to legalise land-based betting has been postponed on numerous occasions despite being approved by the Justice and Citizenship Committee last year.
However, it now does appear the bill, PL 2,234/2022, will go in front of the Senate for a vote after Senate President Davi Alcolumbre placed it as item four on the voting agenda for the 8 July session.
If passed by the Senate, the bill will then go to Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, for final approval, though the president is not expected to resist the policy.
General support for land-based casinos in Brazil
The launch of the licensed online sector has been marred by criticism, with fears of its impact on addiction levels and family debt.
However, in April a DataSenado national survey reported 60% of the Brazilian adult population support the bill to legalise land-based casinos.
Much of the political backing for land-based gambling in Brazil stems from the potential economic gains the industry could deliver.
Some estimates suggest legalisation could generate approximately BRL20 billion ($3.5 billion) in annual revenue.
When asked whether legalising land-based gambling would boost tax revenues, 58% of respondents in the DataSenado survey agreed, while 22% believed it would have no impact.
Furthermore, 44% of those surveyed said they believe legalisation would lead to more job opportunities in Brazil.
With the Brazilian government raising the tax rate on operators’ GGR from 12% to 18%, some in the betting industry have instead suggested legalising land-based casinos as a way of boosting tax coffers.
However, there remains some oppositition to the legalisation of land-based casinos, namely the longtime gambling critic Senator Eduardo Girão.
Girão has argued recent media reports highlighting a rise in money laundering prove the land-based gambling bill should not move forward.
“You can read the headlines of O Globo, Estadão and Folha recently, showing that organised crime has never laundered so much money, never made so much profit from the advent of gambling,” Girão claimed in June. “And what is the problem in Brazil today? Basically, it is public safety.
“The Lula government, which claims to protect the less fortunate and the poorest, can fix this mistake of betting by absolutely not allowing any more gambling to take place.”