Government survey reveals 60% of Brazilians support land-based gambling

On Tuesday (22 April), the DataSenado Research Institute released the findings of a national survey that sought to establish how much public support there was for land-based gambling in the country. DataSenado is a research institute linked to the Transparency Secretariat of the Federal Senate.

PL 2,234/2022, the bill to legalise land-based casinos, bingo, jogo do bicho and betting on horse racing, was approved by the Justice and Citizenship Committee in June last year.

After facing setbacks and being postponed on a number of occasions, there is some confidence the bill will be voted upon by the Senate in the near future. The bill’s rapporteur, Senator Irajá Abreu, said earlier this month he believes the bill has the necessary support to achieve final approval from the Senate.

This new study, which surveyed 5,039 Brazilian men and women aged 16 or over via computer-assisted telephone interviews between 21 February and 1 March, supports Irajá’s belief that land-based legalisation is backed by the Brazil population.

Of those surveyed, 60% said they were in favour of regulating and monitoring land-based gambling. Meanwhile, 34% stated they were against the proposals, while a further 6% said they either didn’t know, or preferred not to answer.

Economic benefits of legalising Brazilian land-based gambling

Much of the reasoning behind political support for land-based gambling relates to the economic benefits the sector could bring to Brazil.

Some have estimated legalisation could provide around BRL20 billion (£2.6 billion/€3.1 billion/$3.5 billion) in annual revenue.

When asked whether legalising land-based gambling would increase tax collection, 58% of those surveyed by DataSenado agreed, while 22% said it wouldn’t make a difference.

Additionally, 44% of those surveyed believe legalising land-based gambling would increase the number of jobs in Brazil, with international giants such as Hard Rock International already making plans for entry.

Alex Pariente, Hard Rock International’s corporate senior vice president of casino and hotel operations, previously told iGB: “We are very keen on presenting an integrated resort as a bigger impact on the economy, because of the magnitude of the investment.

“Building an integrated resort that could be a destination for tourists from the region and internationally could be very useful to pursue the government goal, which is to increase tourism. By the same token, with the job creation related to the sizeable investment of an integrated resort, you’re talking in the billions of dollars.”

DataSenado’s research shows more than a quarter (26%) of the population would participate in land-based gambling should it become legal.

Despite it not being legal, there is a general understanding that land-based gambling is somewhat widespread in Brazil and just 25% of those surveyed believe the current ban is very effective in reducing the activity.

Formalising the activity

As with the licensed online alternative, which launched on 1 January this year, legal land-based gambling would likely formalise the activity and help reduce harmful consequences such as addiction and betting-related crime, which is driven largely by illegal activity.

Of those surveyed, 65% said the creation of rules to prevent gambling-linked crimes such as money laundering was very important, with 17% describing it as just important.

It’s worth noting the federal police in Brazil are reportedly against land-based regulation, with CNN Brazil highlighting the force’s concerns over a potential rise in money laundering.

When asked whether the bill’s provision that land-based machines in casinos would be supervised to ensure they are honest and clearly state the rules, 62% of respondents said this was a positive aspect of the proposals.

Additionally, 54% believe establishing a national confidential registry of people with gambling addictions to restrict their play would be a positive move. Meanwhile 52% agreed rules to prevent people from getting into debt from gambling were very important.