Senator Irajá participated in the seminar “Challenges and regulation of ‘Bets’ and casinos,” held by Editora Globo with support from the government of the State of Rio de Janeiro.
He discussed the progress of the text alongside Minister Celso Sabino; the president of Loterj, Hazenclever Lopes Cançado; and the president of the Brazilian Institute of Legal Gambling (IBJL), Magnho José.
Voting in the coming weeks
Bill 2234/2022 provides for the operation of bingo halls and casinos in the country and regulates games of chance, such as jogo do bicho. The text was approved on July 19 by the Senate’s Constitution and Justice Committee (CCJ). The proposal will now be analyzed by the House Plenary.
The document does not include so-called ‘bets’ (as the operators are knew in Brazil), online sports betting, whose regulation has already been approved by the Chamber and sanctioned by the President of the Republic, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, in January. ‘Bets’ are subject to law 14.790/23, which taxes companies and bettors, in addition to defining rules for the operation of the service.
According to the rapporteur, the regulation of games of chance and betting is an urgent issue, given that the activity currently operates clandestinely and allows the participation of organized crime.
“We can no longer postpone this confrontation, we need to vote on this matter. We managed to convince the vast majority of senators of the importance of this agenda for the country,” Senator Irajá commented during the seminar.
The Minister of Tourism, Celso Sabino, expects the text to be voted on in the coming days: “We want it to be voted on this week. If not, the week after,” he said in an interview with Globo after the panel.
The text has been well received by representatives of the gambling sector. Magnho José, from the Brazilian Institute of Legal Gambling, praised the project for considering not only gambling in casinos, but also jogo do bicho and bingo. His organization participated in the drafting of the text during thematic meetings in Brasília.
“The text that is there is very good. Taking advantage of this moment to legalize other verticals that are currently activities practiced outside the law was a great opportunity. And the project foresees that part of the funds raised will be invested in tourism. This will be extremely important for society and for the country,” he stressed.
Hazenclever Lopes Cançado, president of Loterj, highlighted Rio de Janeiro’s leading role in attracting tourists and its potential to increase state revenue through gambling and betting.
The president of Loterj recalled that the state of Rio anticipated the federal government in establishing rules for the operation of online betting platforms. Now, according to him, the entity wants to create a psychological support center for gamblers addicted to gambling:
“This is an ancient form of entertainment, but it also causes harm to society. And we at Loterj, together with the state government, are going to set up the first psychological support center for these addicts in Rio. Just as the state is a reference in the legalization (of ‘bets”), we want to be a reference in the issue of psychological support.“
Source: GMB