The reason why there are no casinos in Brazil is quite simple: it is a criminal offense to exploit gambling. But this applies only to the private sector. For Caixa Econômica Federal, it is not only lawful, but a monopoly over this commercial activity is guaranteed. The misdemeanor is a kind of 'milder crime', considered to be less serious. In the case of banning betting or gambling, this rule came from a series of Decree-Laws of the 1930s and 1940s and was accepted by the 1988 Constitution.
Obviously, it does not make sense to consider a contravening conduct, but the State has the right to commit it and the ordinary citizen does not. For this reason, the PHS (Solidarity Humanist Party) filed a Fundamental Precept Failure Statement (ADPF) with the Supreme Federal Court (STF) to restore the right of any individual to legally exploit betting.
In this request, PHS states that Decree-Laws 3,688, of 1941 (Law of Criminal Contraventions) and 9,215, of 1946, offend Fundamental Rights and Freedoms, the Principles of Economic Order, of Free Initiative (CF, art. 1º, IV) and of Free Competition (CF, art. 170, caput, IV and sole §) violate rules of Direct Exploration of Economic Activity by the State (CF, art. 173).
The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office (MPF) expressed its opinion on the subject in a poorly founded report that did not take into account the economic potential of this activity. According to the Minister of Tourism, Marcelo Álvaro Antônio, of the 20 richest countries in the world, 93% of them have legalized gambling.
In the city of Punta del Este alone, Brazilians represent 70% of the total gambling public at Conrad Casino. In addition, cities like Las Vegas receive about 6.8 million foreigners annually, which is equivalent to the total number of international visitors that Brazil receives each year.
Advances have been made on this issue with the legalization of sports betting. Law No. 13,756, of 2018, legalized the sports game in which the bettor knows how much he will win. The legalization of fixed-odds sports betting opened the first step for the private sector to explore the gambling sector. The tendency is for the state monopoly on gambling to be broken, especially at a time when Brazil needs to foster economic activity and generate jobs.
In this sense, the plenary session of the STF should bring the discussion to the fore and promote public hearings with experts on the subject and with civil society participating in the debate. The STF has autonomy to decide and is not obliged to follow the narrow understanding of the Public Ministry.
It is time for Brazil to attract investment, casinos are usually grandiose buildings that employ a lot of people from construction to operation. The taxes generated would certainly be higher than Caixa's monopoly collection and would be divided for the states of the Federation, many of them in a chaotic financial situation.
