After a new postponement in the CCJ, the text that legalizes casinos and bingo is postponed to the 19th
The bill (PL) 2.234/2022 that authorizes the operation of casinos and bingos will be analyzed as the only item on the extraordinary deliberative meeting of the Constitution and Justice Committee (CCJ) next Wednesday (19). The decision was communicated by the chairman of the committee, Senator Davi Alcolumbre (Union-AP), in the meeting this Wednesday (12), after senators expressed disagreement on the matter.
The bill was scheduled for the meeting, and the rapporteur, Senator Irajá (PSD-TO), presented a complement to the vote, accepting five drafting amendments. While some senators expressed doubts about the new opinion and requested more time to study the changes, with a request for views, other members of the CCJ, who at the beginning of the meeting had submitted a motion to postpone the analysis, began to advocate for the vote on the matter this Wednesday.
Faced with the impasse, Alcolumbre said he did not want to address any ideological issues and decided to put the matter up for consideration next week, after the hearings, with a commitment not to postpone this discussion any further.
“So I will decide, everything is withdrawn, all three – postponement and motion – are withdrawn, and this presidency will schedule, next Wednesday, in the concentrated effort week. And then we will see if all 27 will be here to vote, whether they will be titular or alternate; whether all 81 will be in the Plenary to vote for the release of the authorities, and we will see how each one will vote,” he said.
The PL 2.234/2022, from the Chamber of Deputies, was presented in that House in 1991. In the Senate, it has been pending since 2022, without a consensus for voting. The text allows the installation of casinos in tourist hubs or in integrated leisure complexes, such as high-end hotels, restaurants, bars, and venues for meetings and cultural events.
Opponents
In the view of senators opposed to the proposal, the permission will not bring economic advantages to the country and will promote negative consequences, such as encouraging crimes such as money laundering and tax evasion.
“The World Health Organization itself considers gambling addiction a more and more serious disease that has devastated jobs because people start to lose productivity; it has devastated families because people start to lose loved ones, who begin to suffer the impacts of addiction. This generates criminality,” said Senator Eduardo Girão (Novo-CE).
In the opinion of these senators, Brazil is not prepared for this authorization, either due to the lack of control bodies to monitor casinos and bingos, or due to the increase in criminality and the emergence of new social problems. They cite as a possible consequence of the gambling release the increase in alcohol and drug dependency, as well as the stimulation of prostitution.
“We do not want the approval of gambling in our country, we do not want the possibility of money laundering for drug trafficking, we do not want the possibility of tax evasion, we do not want the possibility that Brazilian society sinks even further into debt problems,” declared Senator Carlos Viana (Podemos-MG).
Senator Sérgio Moro (União-PR) noted that the issue raises many doubts. One of them is the issue of advertising and lack of transparency. He cited as a negative example the ostensive promotion of online sports betting, the famous bets.
“I have very big concerns regarding advertising. It seems to me that, regarding, for example, these bets that were approved, there is abusive advertising, I only see this on TV, in commercial breaks. And of course, every business has the right to advertise, but we have to be careful whether this does not encourage an exaggerated addiction in this matter. I would even like to see if this project has any provision regarding this issue.”
Senators Oriovisto Guimarães (Podemos-PR), Damares Alves (Republicans-DF), Zequinha Marinho (Podemos-PA), Marcio Bittar (União-AC), Esperidião Amin (PP-SC), Marcos Rogério (PL-RO), and Jorge Seif (PL-SC) also expressed opposition to the approval of the matter.
New amendments
Senator Irajá praised the guidance presented by the chairman of the CCJ and informed that so far, 38 amendments to the matter have been presented. He considered the new deadline essential for the analysis of the proposed changes and to address the doubts of the committee members.
“This morning, we received five more amendments, I will not go into the merits of whether they are feasible or not feasible, but they require time for us to make a serene and balanced evaluation, and, being prudent, being feasible, we can admit them or not. So, your decision to postpone the discussion not only serves common sense, Chairman Davi, but also the need for the rapporteur to assess these new amendments that have been presented,” he said.
Even without declaring their positions, whether in favor or against, Senators Eduardo Braga (MDB-AM) and Rogério Carvalho (PT-SE) advocated for more time to analyze the adjustments in the text.
“Just to clarify that my position here is not a pre-vote. Some senators tried to put into my mouth or my statement that my vote will be in favor or against the present project. What I asked for was, due to the changes presented in the report, a postponement so that we can have absolute certainty regarding the report presented, to vote against or in favor,” clarified Eduardo Braga.