Brazil had several gambling houses in the 1940s. The Copacabana Palace had its tables and the Quitandinha Palace in Teresópolis was built for that purpose in 1944, with great sophistication and the nickname of the largest casino in South America. Two years later, then President Dutra banned gambling by Decree Law.
The prohibition had the following arguments: “Whereas the crackdown on gambling is an imperative of universal consciousness; Whereas the criminal law of all educated peoples contains precepts to this end; Whereas the legal and religious moral tradition of the Brazilian people is contrary to the practice and exploitation and gambling; Whereas out of the exceptions made open to the general law have been harmful abuses of moral and good manners.”
From the text it is clear the moralistic character of the law, which was accredited to a request by Dutra's wife, known as Dona Santinha and opposed to gambling for religious reasons.
Today it is no longer possible to maintain the discourse, especially with the need that Brazil has to activate tourism, still underdeveloped, generate jobs and bring investments. Casinos can do that, as well as the sports betting regulation, which is coming soon.
Tourism Minister Marcelo Álvaro Antônio encouraged the discussion on the issue in the Congress and gave a preview of how he believed casinos could operate near resorts that already exist in the country. Antonio said the practice would not be different from what happens in other countries. In the Caribbean, as well as European nations, several developments have combined tourism with gaming. Portugal, for example, regulates online gambling by the Gambling Regulation and Inspection Service (SRIJ), a body that belongs to the Portuguese Ministry of Tourism.
“I think a broader issue (with a release of just casinos) has no room for approval in Brazil, but resort-integrated casinos are an inevitable discussion. 95% of developed countries already allow this, and Brazil will be no different,” he said.
Of course, it is not positive to pass a regulation that releases in general, just as Dutra's move prohibited in general. There is every legal need to create an enabling environment for investment, benchmarking, taxation to certify the fairness of gambling and even other initiatives such as supporting people who fall into addiction.
However, it is important that the process begins to take place, taking advantage of the climate of reform and the need it imposes.
According to the Presiden of Deputies Chamber, Rodrigo Maia, estimated that the casino regulation can bring R$ 25 billion (US$ 6bn) to the public coffers and generate 250,000 to 300,000 jobs. “We want to present (project) casino and Internet games, because Brazil is not getting anything for that (online betting).”
As the Gambling Law did not deal with the Internet - if it were Dona Santinha it would be a visionary - online gambling companies operate normally, accepting Brazilian clients, betting in reais, payment methods such as bank transfer (including Banco do Brasil and Caixa) and even sponsor entities such as the CBF (Brazilian Football Confederation).
It is a situation that makes no sense and is not positive for anyone. There is no job creation in Brazil and no generation of taxes, companies cannot act freely and gamblers have no legal certainty.
So the matter is asking to take action, because every new month that passes, opportunities are lost and the country does not generate income.
Source: GMB / Jornal de Brasília
