Brazil’s Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad, has voiced his support for Bill 2,234/22 to legalise casinos, bingos, and betting on horse racing.
As reported by SBC Noticias, the Minister had a meeting with Irajá Silvestre – the Senator and Rapporteur of the Constitution and Justice Commission (CCJ) – which approved the Bill earlier in June.
Speaking to Haddad, Silvestre said: “Minister, it is not possible that the whole world is wrong and only Brazil is right. So, these countries that made the legalisation and regulation with responsibility set an end to illegal gambling and clandestine gambling.
“And they created a new business environment in the countries, generating employment, income, and doubling the number of tourists who began to visit these countries.
“We are not dealing here with an ideological agenda, it is an economic, social agenda, the generation of employment, income, taxes that will be reversed in projects in the essential areas.”
The CCJ Rapporteur also presented evidence-based studies that showed around 22m Brazilian Real (£3.2m) being potentially generated annually through tax.
In turn, Haddad responded: “All OECD countries [Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development], almost all G20 countries and more than 90% of the countries have regulated [the physical industry].
“As long as it is well-disciplined, well-done, moralised and with the supervision of the Brazilian state and with the protection of the citizens, it is something that can generate employment and income for our country”.
Bill 2,234/22 is currently awaiting final approval by the Federal Senate of Brazil after Silvestre and the CCJ supported it on 19 June. It will bring a resolution to Brazil’s gambling modernisation project that finds its roots all the way back to the 1990s.
The conclusive vote is now expected to happen in August, after a statement by Senate President Rodrigo Pacheco from last week urged the Brazilian Parliament to have its final say after it comes back from recess on 31 July.