In Brazil, a bill that would open the door for broad gambling legalization is back on the congressional agenda today after multiple delays last week, providing a final hope of passage before the 2016 session adjourns.
In the Senate, a measure that would authorize casinos, jogo do bicho games, bingo halls, electronic wagering and other forms of gambling is scheduled to come up for a vote this afternoon. In the Chamber of Deputies, no floor vote on its companion bill has been scheduled, but supporters are pushing for a vote of urgency to be held Tuesday or Wednesday that would move the legislation – which was approved at the committee level in late August – up the priority ladder and to the floor for a full vote.
But the window of opportunity time for consideration of gambling legalization in 2016 is quickly closing. Observers say that if the Senate bill does not come up for a vote Tuesday or Wednesday, it will likely won’t be taken up again until February or March of 2017.
Many international casino companies based in the United States, Macau, Singapore and Portugal have all expressed great interest in a potential opening of the Brazilian gambling market and are reported to have a presence on the ground in Brasilia as the deliberations continue.
While Congress does not adjourn for Christmas until December 22, its final week in session will be spent finalizing the 2017 budget.
The Senate bill had originally been scheduled for a floor vote on December 7, but it was sidetracked when – just two days prior – Senate president Renan Calheiros was ordered by the Supreme Court to be removed from his post so he could stand trial for corruption allegations. The reason behind this was that someone was under active investigation for corruption could not serve in the presidential line of succession.
After several days of legal wrangling and appeals, Calheiros won back his job, but not before several days’ worth of Senate business were delayed.
But even if a vote is held this week, there remains fierce opposition in Brazil’s legislature to legalizing gambling – which has been prohibited in the South American nation since World War II.
The largest bloc of opponents comes from the evangelical and Catholic members of the Senate who have expressed concern that casinos and the other reforms being proposed would open the door for money laundering by narcotraffickers, crime syndicates, terrorist groups and other undesirable entities.
“Brazil will become, with this project, a paradise of transgression,” Magno Malta, a senator from the state of Espirito Santo, told the Brazilian newspaper Valor Economico this week. “Money from narcotrafficking will be laundered here, money from corruption will be laundered here, money from bribery will be laundered here.”
