Brazil: Gambling regulation could be treated after Carnival

The Federal Senate will be able to vote immediately after Carnival on the bill that provides for the regulation and legalization of gambling in the country. The proposal, approved by the Chamber of Deputies in February of last year, came with immense internal resistance among the senators and lost steam with the proximity of the elections.

Parliamentarians bet that the economic impact of the regulation could serve as an incentive for its eventual approval.

The idea had not been well regarded in the previous management of the Executive. In a nod to the evangelicals, the then President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) indicated that he would veto the project in its entirety, if the Senate concluded the vote with the approval of the proposal.

In an interview with Metropoles, Senator Angelo Coronel (PSD-BA), one of the main promoters of the project in the Senate, assesses that the new government is willing to discuss the issue. “I think there is a good will. We are, in fact, looking for new sources of income for the Union, ” he emphasizes.

According to the Bahian, whose party will form part of Lula's base in the National Congress, it is estimated that the collection will be around R$ 60 billion just for the taxation of games of chance. “The games exist and they are there, they are a reality. We want to regularize this market, ”he says.

“This activity is being carried out freely, without generating a penny of taxes for the country. And, in my view, we are not facing a usual agenda, but rather an economic agenda,” he continues.

Pacheco's disposition

Coronel reports having discussed the issue with the president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), who gave the bill a positive signal. Everything will depend, however, on whether the senator manages to be re-elected as head of the Chamber.

“The project will be distributed to the rapporteurship and will be put to a vote right at the beginning of the legislature. I spoke with Senator Rodrigo last week and the idea is that we put it up for discussion right after Carnival. We know there is some resistance,” he explained. 

“I don't know if it will be unanimous in the Senate, but nobody is inventing the game, we are legalizing what exists, we want to legalize what exists. This is an important agenda to increase the income of the Union ”, he concludes.

Despite having come to life in recent days, gambling regulation is far from being a pacified issue in the Senate. Last year, even in an attack against the proposal, the Legislative Chamber approved the creation of the Parliamentary Front Against Games of Chance, sponsored by the Podemos group and chaired by Senator Eduardo Girão (CE).

The senator understands that the legalization of gambling will result in costs to society far greater than any benefits. He believes that the practice may expand the practice of money laundering in the country and income evasion, in addition to tax evasion.