After the summer recess where there was not much progress on the possibilities of legalizing gambling in Brazil, some of the main players involved in the issue seem to be ready to move forward to a stage that will be decisive.
In addition to the strong possibility of sports betting, there are currently there options that could bring back casinos and bingos to Brazil: a law in the House of Representatives, another in Senators and a Lawsit in the Supreme Court. Here is the detail and possibilities of each of these options:
1.- PL 442/1991 -
Chamber of Representatives' Bill
The next step for PL 442/1991 is for it to be voted by
the Chamber of Representative’s Plenary. There has been an urgency submission
for the vote of the bill, however, there hasn't been any development on this
matter.
During a recent Leading Congressmen meeting, Federal DeputySilvio Costa
has requested the inclusion of PL 442/1991 for voting on the Chamber's Agenda.
However, there was no consensus on this subject, given the current
politicalenvironmentinvolving Brazilian politicians.
According to sources inside de Chamber, it will go ahead in the first half of April.
2.- PLS 186/2014 –
Senate’s Bill
PLS 186/2014 is alsoexpected to be voted by the
plenary of the Senate. However, itwill require further discussions by the
Constitution, Justice and Citizenship Commission (CCJ) of the Senate before it
can be taken to vote by the Plenary.
The President of the Senate's Constitutional Commission, SenatorEdison Lobão, has just assigned Senator Benedito de Lira to be the Rapporteur of the PLS 186/2014 at the Constitutional Commission.The move can be considered to be a positive initiative, since de Lira is known to be a defender of the legalization of gambling in Brazil, especially as a new way to raise funds for the Government.
3.- Supreme Court
Lawsuit
Besides the bill projects, there is of optimism with
regards to a lawsuit that is being processed by the STF (Brazilian Supreme
Court). The Public Ministry of Rio Grande do Sul filled an extraordinary Appeal
to discuss the constitutionality of the law that makes gambling a misdemeanor.
It is possible that the Supreme Court may decide that
theprohibitionof gambling isunconstitutional. Thisimminentjudgement
by the Supreme Court may force the Executive Power to push the bills forward
even faster than expected. That’s why a third option beside the bill projects
is mentioned as a factor to accelerate gambing legalization.
Sports betting
But Brazil is waiting another important sector of the gaming market to be
regulated. And that is sports betting, whic legalization would be as important as
casinos, bingo halls, and online gaming. Sports Betting play an important role all
this regulating situation.
At late 2016 there was a possibility for the issuing of a Provisional Measure signed by President Michel Temer for the legalization of sports betting. But it has lost force during the past months, especially because recently came up the possibility of the presentation of a new bill project for the legalization of this activity.
Alexandre Manoel da Silva - Undersecretary of the Secretariat of Economic Monitoring (SEAE) of the Ministry of Finance - said that the Ministry of Finance hassent a sports betting bill to the Presidency Civil House. Now, the President may present this new bill to the Congress.
He also said that the operation of sports betting is likely to be done like LOTEX - Instant Lotteries. ACaixa Econômica Federal (Public Bank) subsidiary would be created, and 49% of it will be sold to one private operator, which will be responsible for the activity, alongside with the Government. However, according to recent information, it is possible to expect multi-licencing operation for sports betting. The number of possible operators would be from 5 to 10.
Meanwhile, during the last weeks several meetings
have been held by different actors related with a possible gaming legalization,
from political figures and Caixa representatives, to
entities of gaming that support the creation of a new regulated market for
Brazil.
The outcome was very optimistic with regards of both bills, for different
reasons. One of it was the appointment of Benedito de Lara as new rapporteur
for the 186/2014, who is an enthusiastic of gambling.
According to information accessed by Games Magazine Brasil, the legalization process can be expected to be finished, by either bill, at the end of the second quarter or during the third quarter of 2017. Then, the regulation by the authorities can be expected for the following 6-8 months.
In conclusion, since there are three good ways and possibilities for the legalization orunconstitutionalityrecognition – Senate Bill, Chamber of Representatives Bill and Supreme Court Lawsuit, as well as the sports betting proposition from the President- it is possible to be optimistic about the nearfuture.
Source: Exclusive GMB
