The Committee on Constitution, Justice, and Citizenship has said no to the latest gaming bill, shattering the hope of casinos coming to South America’s largest country.
During the session, held on March 7, Senators rallied against the report presented by Benedito de Lira. His report recommended the introduction of specific laws which could have a positive influence on the problems caused by illegal gambling in Brazil.
Only Two Votes In Favor
However, 13 senators rejected gaming bill PLS 186/2016, while only 2 votes in favor were not sufficient enough.
The Committee stated this bill if adopted as law, could lead to the increase of money laundering, and encourage gambling, which in turn would cause the rise of gambling addiction among the Brazilians.
Senator Randolfe Rodrigues said the National Congress had buried this absurdity for good. He pointed out that at a time when the country was debating the problem of public safety, approving such a bill represented a shot in the head for Congress.
Senator Ronaldo Caiado described the bill as the most permissive project ever discussed in Congress and added it was hard to believe that instead of taking care of health and public safety, the Congress was debating over gambling.
A Major Setback
On the other hand, Senator Benedito de Lira defended the proposal by stating that illegal gaming was very much present in Brazil and that the gaming regulation was essential in the fight against money laundering.
He pointed out the bill was trying to regulate an economic activity, not to fight against ideological or religious views.
This is another setback in the efforts to adopt gaming legislation in Brazil, which proposes a number of new measures to efficiently fight against money laundering, but also deals with player protection and taxation.
Under the provision of the proposal, all gaming companies operating in Brazil will be obliged to do their business activities in accordance with the Money Laundering Act, which means they will have to register clients and report operations to the Council for Financial Activities Control in the Ministry of Finance.
In addition to this, the bill will offer an increased level of player protection, while the federal government will take responsibility for promoting responsible gaming. Still, all of this wasn’t enough for the Committee.
