Federal police oppose legalisation of land-based casinos in Brazil

Brazil
Brazil

The federal police force reportedly seeks to block the regulation of land-based gaming in Brazil.

Brazil.- CNN Brazil has reported that the country’s federal police force has taken a stance against the regulation of land-based gaming. It argues that land-based casinos could be used for money laundering, adding to its workload.

Following the launch of regulated online gambling in Brazil on January 1, a long-delayed bill on land-based gaming in Brazil is expected to be debated in the coming months. Bill No. 2,234/2022 would permit land-based casinos, horseracing, betting, bingo and jogo do bicho (instant win) sales, lifting then-president Gaspar Dutra’s 1946 decree banning casinos from Brazil’s municipalities and districts.

However, the proposal still faces strong opposition, including from politicians such as Eduardo Girão (NOVO) and members of the evangelical contingent. A vote on the bill was postponed in December and is now expected in the first half of this year. 

CNN reports that the Federal Police of Brazil has submitted responses to a  Ministry of Justice and Public Security (MJSP) survey on legislative proposals in the Senate. The police force has flagged matters that it believes may have an impact on its work. Signed by deputy director general William Murad, the report cites land-based gambling as a project the police force is against. 

The Senate Constitution and Justice Committee (CCJ) approved the bill to legalise land-based gaming in June 2024 by 14 votes to 12. The bill would allow land-based casinos in tourist locations or “integrated leisure complexes” with a limit of one in most states and the Federal District. The larger states of Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, Paraná and Amazonas would be allowed two casinos, and São Paulo three.

Meanwhile, bingo would be allowed in one designated establishment per municipality plus additional venues depending on population size. Licences valid for 25 years would be granted by municipalities and would require a minimum capital of R$10m. As for jogo do bicho, one operator would be allowed for every 700,000 inhabitants in each state and the Federal district. Regarding horseracing, the bill would promote the modernisation of turf courses to be overseen by the Ministry of Agriculture.

There would be several limitations. Betting would be allowed for “only individuals with full civil capacity”, excluding those declared insolvent, over-indebted or involved in debt restructuring in the past two years. A National Register of Prohibited Persons would be created, against which operators would have to check customers. The bill also calls for a National Policy for the Protection of Gamblers and Bettors.

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gambling regulation Land-based casinos