Bolsonaro to Veto Gambling Legalization Bill
In an unexpected reversal, Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro has announced that he will not support a pending congressional bill to legalize and regulate new aspects of the country’s gambling industry: bingo halls, casinos and Jogo do bicho. The move comes as somewhat of a surprise to those following Brazil’s gaming legalization saga, which seemed to have enthusiastic support from the president up until recently.
Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro has confirmed his plans to veto an upcoming casino legalization bill. ©Matheus Câmara da Silva/Unsplash
A Reversal of Opinion
Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies launched an initiative to legalize more games of chance, including casino games, and the legalization of sports betting around the country has been in discussion for some time. Despite initial support for the initiative, President Bolsonaro changed course recently in an interview with Veja magazine.
In his interview, Bolsonaro said that he would, without question, veto the congressional bill if it came to his desk. He acknowledged that he has spoken to supporters of the legalization, and has spoken positively about it in the past, but at this point, he believes that there is more risk involved than potential gain with the decision.
It is an unusual move considering Bolsonaro’s interest in pushing through sports betting in Brazil as quickly as possible, signing a government decree to move the legalization process forward. In 2020, the president also personally insisted to a court that casinos be given a status as essential businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, due to their great financial importance within the state.
However, Bolsonaro also acknowledged that Congress has the power to override his veto, which they likely will. Deputy Jonga Bacelar, coordinator of the Working Group in the Chamber of Deputies spoke about the matter to Games Magazine Brazil, assuring that Congress will continue to pursue legalization with all of their power.
To Bacelar, the choice to legalize games in Brazil is an obvious one. He said that as long as the State does not pursue legalization, it misses out on valuable tax money which could go to public projects. Meanwhile, citizens miss out on the safety and protection provided by having a government-overseen system.
Who is in favor and against gaming legalization in Brazil?
In his interview, Deputy Bacelar added that more than 50 percent of deputies of the Chamber have voiced their approval. The reasoning is fairly obvious, as Brazilian authorities have calculated high potential tax earnings, which would go directly into supporting the hard hit health and tourism sectors.
The Chamber’s president, Arthur Lira has kicked the legalization process into high gear in direct response to the State’s needs in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. He is now hoping for a vote on the matter by the end of the year.
Despite earlier discussions, this newest push has gone quickly, starting with Lira creating a working group on September 9th to update the text of a measure written in 2016 and largely forgotten until now. The group includes ten pro-gambling deputies. Several ministers support the work, including Bolsonaro’s eldest son, senator Flávio Bolsonaro.
According to Veja, the legalization has several strong allies in the Minister of the Civil House, Ciro Nogueira, and also Paulo Guedes (Minister of Economy) and Gilson Machado (Minister of Tourism). The bill currently forecasts an estimated 20.4 billion reais — or $3.76 million USD — in collected tax from the gambling industry.
To this, Deputy Bacelar said: “A country where inflation has returned, where poverty has increased — can it afford to give up 20 billion?”
The main opponents of the bill remain Brazil’s Evangelical caucus. The lobbyists for the current bill have done their best to bridge gaps with the opposition. It is unclear whether Bolsonaro’s recent shift in alliances may have to do with swaying his evangelical base ahead of Brazil’s upcoming presidential election.
