Brazil lower house not to vote on gambling until Feb

The vote on bill 442/91—which makes gambling legal in Brazil, including in casinos—will not be held until February 2022. The matter was discussed at a floor session at the lower house Thursday (Dec. 17), but Congress members decided to give it further consideration.

“The bill will be voted on in February, so there is time until it matures and is thoroughly discussed, and we may see who is interested in making gambling legal and who is not, what its effects and causes are, what is good, and what is bad,” said Brazil’s lower house speaker Arthur Lira.

The text to be debated comes to replace the one filed by Representative Felipe Carreras, on behalf of a work group that reviewed the topic. The discussion proposed will remain open so that Congress members may suggest alterations and make remarks, and bring the text back to discussion after Parliamentary recess.

The matter concerns the legalization of gambling in all its forms—including the styles associated with casinos resorts and urban casinos, Brazil’s well-known game jogo do bicho, sports betting, games of skill, and horse racing. Licenses will be granted through auctions, and the games are to be monitored by a watchdog as well as a federal regulator.

*With information from Agência Câmara