On June 19, the Brazilian Justice and Citizenship Committee passed the PL 2,234/2022 bill with a vote of 14 to 12, paving the way for the regulation of casinos in Brazil. The full Senate is expected to vote on this after the recess on August 1st.
However, according to CNN, the President of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco, prioritizes tax and national debt issues over the gambling legislation.
Casinos in Brazil may open after municipal elections
Therefore, the gambling bill might be postponed to October. This would be after the first round of municipal elections scheduled for October 6th.
PL 2,234/2022 will be discussed in a Senate thematic debate on Thursday, August 8th. It will then be decided whether the vote will be postponed. If not postponed, the vote could happen next week. President Lula da Silva has already indicated that he would sign the bill if it passes the Senate.
The meeting on Thursday will be chaired by Senator Irajá Abreu, who will oversee the bill's review. The meeting will aim to resolve remaining disputes, including potential measures to prevent interference from organized crime and money laundering.
The decision to postpone the vote is also pressured by evangelical members within the Senate, who are concerned that the legalization of gambling could increase levels of gambling addiction in Brazil.
Brazil's Final Decree Announced
This potential setback comes as Brazil’s regulated sports betting and online gambling market is gearing up. The Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA) has published the final regulations. Brazil is expected to launch its legal gambling market on January 1, 2025.
The final regulations, soon to be published in the Official Journal of the European Union, include Normative Decree No. 1,207, which clarifies which online games will be allowed.
The four-stage regulatory measures proposed in April have been completed, including monitoring, national funding, responsible gaming, and sanctions.
