Project has been locked in the Senate since June last year, when it was approved in a tight vote to the Constitution and Justice Commission (CCJ) in June 2024
The president of the Federal Senate, (União-AP), guided this Tuesday (8), the vote of the Casinos Bill, whose proposal is to legalize various modalities of gambling, including bingos, bets on horses and casinos, and regulate the animal game. The bill has been locked in the Senate since June last year, when it was approved in a tight vote to the Constitution and Justice Commission (CCJ) in June 2024. According to the rapporteur, Senator Irajá (PSD-TO), the strategic break was necessary to raise sufficient support before the final opinion of the plenary. The proposal faces resistance mainly from the evangelical bench. “We will try to prevent in all ways,” the Senate Parliamentary Front President, Carlos Viana (Somos-MG), told the Estadão column. “We will work hard against it, but really,” said Senator Damares Alves (Republicans-DF), the group’s deputy in May this year.
The measure intends to end the prohibition of gambling established by a 1946 law, and revokes parts of the criminal offense law. Questions related to the impact of BETs, such as population indebtedness and irregular use for money laundering, were also part of the discussions in Congress. According to the justification, the proposal intends to “create a supervision and supervision system to ensure the safety and transparency of these activities, as well as providing measures to prevent crimes such as money laundering and terrorism financing”. The original text of the project was presented in 1991, when the then deputy Renato Vianna, at the time of the PMDB (today MDB), presented him focused on legalizing the animal game. Since then, it has undergone several changes, expanding to what is now called the “regulatory framework of games in Brazil”. After approval in the House in 2022, the proposal arrived in the Senate and can now go to sanction or presidential veto. If approved, regulation will bring detailed rules for each modality.
Casinos, for example, can only function in integrated leisure complexes, such as resorts, or on vessels. These places must meet requirements as a minimum social capital of R $ 100 million, high standard accommodations and 30 -year, renewable operating licenses. The distribution of licenses will be limited and based on the population and territory of each state. Permanent bingos will be able to operate at exclusive homes or soccer stadiums with over 15,000 places, with 25 -year -old licenses. The rooms will need to have at least 1,500 m² and will be able to install up to 400 video bingo machines. The animal game will depend on financial caution for accreditation, being allowed a license every 700,000 inhabitants per state. Taxation will be another important point. Gains over $ 10,000 will be taxed by 20% via income tax, while betting houses will pay quarterly fees ranging from $ 20,000 to $ 600,000, depending on the type of game. In addition, there will be the contribution of intervention in the economic domain (CIDE) with a rate of 17%. The Ministry of Finance will be responsible for overseeing, licensing and authorizing operations.
Posted by Luisa Cardoso
*With information from Estadão Content
