The long-awaited Bill No. 2,234/2022 was withdrawn from the Senate’s agenda by Alcolumbre, who cited ‘low attendance’ for a federal measure but offered no firm indication on when or if the Bill will return or whether amendments will be required for a further review.
“Yesterday and today, given today’s quorum — 56 out of 81 senators — we have eight or nine senators who are outside Brazil on special mandates, and I spoke with all of them.” Alcolumbre declared.
“They requested that the presidency postpone the deliberation as they would like to be present on the day this matter is voted on. We have senators abroad who have clearly stated they support this bill, and we also have senators abroad who are against it.”
The bill, which had cleared the Senate’s Constitution and Justice Committee (CCJ) by 14 votes to 12 at the close of 2024, proposed a sweeping modernisation of Brazil’s outdated gambling laws.
If passed, it would have legalised and regulated land-based casinos, bingo halls, jogo do bicho (instant-win games), and horse race betting across Brazil for the first time since a federal prohibition enacted in 1946.
A lonely Bill
Originally drafted in the 1990s by former deputy Renato Vianna, the bill outlines a tightly controlled structure for reintroducing gambling. Casinos would be allowed in integrated resorts or designated tourism hubs, limited to one venue per state—with exceptions for larger states such as São Paulo (three casinos) and Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, Paraná, and Amazonas (two each).
Bingo halls would be licensed on a municipal basis, with allocation based on population size. Jogo do bicho operators would be accredited per 700,000 residents, and licences would require minimum capital thresholds of R$10 million and offer 25-year renewable terms.
Horse racing would fall under a newly centralised regulatory framework, with turf modernisation overseen by the Ministry of Agriculture.
High expectations
The bill proposes the establishment of a regulated tax regime for all land-based gambling verticals. Prizes above R$10,000 would be subject to a 20% withholding tax, while operators would pay a Gaming and Betting Inspection Fee (Tafija) and a Contribution of Intervention in the Economic Domain (Cide-Jogos).
Proponents argue that legalisation could deliver up to R$100bn in investment, create 1.5 million jobs, and generate as much as R$20bn per year in tax revenue. Under the framework, 80% of gross revenues from casinos and bingos (40% for jogo do bicho) would be returned to players in the form of prize payouts, with the remainder supporting municipal projects in tourism, sport, culture, and public welfare.
Strict anti-money laundering and consumer protection measures were also included. Operators would be prohibited from offering loans or promotions to players, while all transactions would need to be recorded on systems accessible to government oversight. A National Register of Prohibited Persons (Renapro) would be established to prevent vulnerable individuals from gambling.
Conservative resistance
Senator Irajá Abreu (PSD-TO), the bill’s rapporteur, was widely credited with reviving the legislation from political obscurity. “It’s impossible that the entire world is wrong and only Brazil is right in failing to regulate gambling,” he remarked. Abreu framed the proposal as a pragmatic economic tool that balances social protection with market potential.
However, the bill has drawn fierce opposition from across the political spectrum. Senators from the PT, PSDB, União and others denounced the move as a gateway to social harm, corruption, and exploitation.
The influential Evangelical Caucus in the Senate has vowed to block the bill unless amendments are introduced to ban gambling in high-crime areas and provide stronger addiction safeguards.
Brazil’s conservative and progressive blocs appear unusually united in their resistance to the bill’s passage without substantial reform.
Senator Humberto Costa (PT-PE) warned that jogo do bicho serves as a “cover for militias and criminal factions,” with fellow Workers’ Party lawmakers echoing concerns over criminal infiltration. He added: “We can’t even control these online betting sites… and now we want to create a new market of illusions?”
Senator Eduardo Girão (Novo-CE), rapporteur of the CPI das Bets, reinforced the warnings, describing gambling as “a pandemic” that is “tearing Brazilian families apart.”
Withdrawn without clarification
Despite these tensions, the decision to withdraw the bill from the Senate agenda came without a clear explanation from President Alcolumbre beyond vague references to attendance levels.
He did not specify whether the bill would return in amended form or if it required further negotiation. Observers noted that significant revisions are almost inevitable.
The bill’s structure still relies heavily on regulatory language and assumptions drafted over 30 years ago, long before the emergence of online gambling and the rapid evolution of Brazil’s digital economy.
The postponement of the land-based gambling bill follows the release of the first economic report of Brazil’s regulated online betting regime under the Bets framework. According to the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (SPA), the federal market generated R$3bn (approx. €520m) in tax revenue during the first five months of 2025 — a milestone that underscores the fiscal significance of the regulated online gambling sector.
While closely monitoring developments in the Senate, SPA President Regis Dudena told SBC Noticias Brazil that his current focus remains on finalising the technical plans for a Single National System to govern key regulatory disciplines, including anti-money laundering (AML), licensing, and self-exclusion mechanisms for gambling. This unified system is seen as foundational to maintaining compliance standards and ensuring player protection across all verticals of Brazil’s expanding gambling regime.
Conservative parties, already feeling sidelined by the Brazil Bets regime that governs online gambling, are likely to demand greater influence over the land-based framework. As such, any progress will depend on difficult compromises and a willingness among political blocs to rework the terms from the ground up — a tough road lies ahead for legalising casinos and land-based ventures.
The Casino Bill now sits in political limbo, requiring renewed negotiations and cross-party consensus for any chance of progress.
Dingnews.com 10/07/2025