Casino bill moves through Brazilian Senate

The Senate’s Constitution and Justice Committee on Wednesday approved by a slim 14-12 vote a bill to legalize casinos in Brazil. The bill will proceed to a floor vote.

The controversial bill was previously approved in the House in a hasty February 2022 late night sitting. Lawmakers on the left and right helped pass it, despite public opposition from the evangelical Christian caucus.

Casinos and most forms of gambling have been banned in Brazil since 1946, although the country has recently moved to legalize sports betting platforms. The idea of legalizing casino resorts was revived during the former far-right Jair Bolsonaro administration and has been advertised as a way to boost tourism in Brazil.

During his term, Mr. Bolsonaro repeatedly said he aimed to turn the coastal city of Angra dos Reis, in the Rio de Janeiro state, into a “Brazilian Cancún.” Although he did not address the topic of gambling directly, Cancún is home to many casinos.

Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, the former president’s eldest son, traveled with Senator Irajá, the bill’s rapporteur in the Senate, in early 2020 to Miami and Las Vegas to meet with the late gambling mogul Sheldon Adelson (1933-2021).

As The Brazilian Report demonstrated in a recent episode of our Explaining Brazil podcast, the push to legalize casinos is closely related to calls to allow the private use of “marine land” such as beaches (prime locations for casino resorts). Both bills passed the House floor less than 48 hours apart in early 2022.

Senator Jaques Wagner, the Lula administration’s Senate whip, voted in favor of the bill.

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