The Minister of Tourism once again expressed the benefits that legalization would bring to the country and explained that he is working towards getting Bill 2,234/22 debated in the Senate between January and February of next year.
Brazil.- The Minister of Tourism, Celso Sabino, gave an interview to O Globo and commented on various topics, from a possible indication in the case of a ministerial reform to the participation of his party, União Brasil, in the federal government. In addition to these topics, Sabino took the opportunity to comment on the voting of the Bill 2234/22, which aims to legalize casinos, bingo, Jogo do Bicho, and horse race betting in Brazil.
The minister is one of the main enthusiasts of the proposal and has already defended it publicly on several occasions. He believes that the legalization of casinos in Brazil could generate between 600,000 and one million direct and indirect jobs. The project was scheduled to be voted on in the Senate Plenary on December 4, but was removed from the agenda and could only be held in January of next year.
“It seems inconsistent to me that we can have online games, with platforms operating in other countries, that do not generate jobs in the country, and that we cannot have a complex with a structure that will employ 10,000 people. I defend this idea, I believe there is a majority in the Senate, but a minority opposition managed to speak louder and removed the project from the agenda. I hope it is approved as soon as possible,” said Sabino to O Globo.
“If not this year, then next year, by February, before the carnival. I talk almost every day to achieve it,” added the Minister of Tourism.
Considered important for the revenues it can provide to state coffers, the federal government should try to approve Bill 2234/22 next year.
The minister had already highlighted the benefits that the approval of the project could generate for Brazil in September this year: "Resort-casinos are projects that use many resources for their implementation, employ and contribute to tourism worldwide," said Sabino at that time and added: "The project is appropriate and will help Brazilians move around the country and attract more foreign visitors."
The bill has the support of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and most of the ministers. The government direction considers that the controversy over the spending of Bolsa Família users on online games made it so that physical gambling did not obtain the necessary base to be voted on. The Minister of Sports, André Fufuca, even publicly stated that online casinos should not have been launched before physical casinos.
The dialogues to approve the proposal should take place in the first half of 2025. The Executive Power expects to collect R$ 22,000m (USD 3,500m) in taxes from the physical gambling establishments.
See also: The Brazilian vice president showed his support for the regulation of casinos and gambling
The text of the law authorizes the installation of casinos in tourist hubs or in integrated leisure complexes, with a limit of one casino per state and in the Federal District, with the exception of São Paulo, which could have up to three casinos, and of Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, Amazonas, and Pará, where the limit set for each state is two casinos.
According to the proposal, gaming rooms can also operate on maritime and river vessels, which will follow specific rules. The casino must demonstrate a minimum integrated social capital of at least R$ 100m (USD 19m) and can be accredited for 30 years.
The proposal also sets rules for the game of bingo in cardboard and electronic modalities, and allows in each state the accreditation of a legal entity for every 700,000 inhabitants for the exploitation of “jogo do bicho”.
