According to the report, Coronel is in favor of legalization of the activity in resorts and aims to use the funds raised from games and casinos to fund the federal government's assistance program. The Bahian also sees the liberation of gambling as a possible solution to economic problems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It is a mistake to turn a blind eye to reality and not recognize that bingos and even the jogo do bicho are part of the daily life of Brazilians. Shyness, fear or, I dare say, false morality that rejects the legalization of gambling, causes the country to lose a considerable amount of taxes per year that could be used for the benefit of the Brazilian citizen," says an excerpt from the document.
Finally, Coronel takes a position stating that this "legislative blindness" in relation to gambling and casinos ends up financing illicit practices in the country. According to the parliamentarian, if they are well managed and supervised, gambling could increase the country's tax collection.
"This legislative blindness has an even more devastating effect: it makes money from games of chance in Brazil used, in general, to finance organized crime," he concludes.
Since last year, Jair Bolsonaro has been pressured by leaders of Centrão political sector and his own son Flávio to change his mind about the legalization of gambling. The evangelical group and minister Damares Alves are vehemently opposed to the activity.
At the end of 2019, Bolsonaro received for lunch a group of parliamentarians - led by deputies Elmar Nascimento (DEM) and Paulinho da Força (Solidarity) - who defends the legalization of gambling and was already moving to put the matter to vote in 2020.
Less than a month later, the president was informed of his son Flávio's trip to Las Vegas, precisely to address the issue. In May this year, Tourism Minister Marcelo Álvaro Antônio admitted for the first time the Bolsonaro government's plan to install casinos in Brazil.
Source: GMB
