The formal session will take place at 4 pm in a semi-presential format, with the participation of the presidents of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), of the Chamber of Deputies, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), and of the President of the Republic, Jair Bolsonaro, who traditionally reads the presidential message, in which he points out the priorities for the year. The president of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), Minister Luiz Fux, will also participate.
In the Chamber of Deputies, it is expected that the discussions on the final report by deputy Felipe Carreras (PSB-PE), which legalizes all types of gaming in the country, will be on the agenda in the coming days, as the president of the House, Arthur Lira, has already expressed. As the sessions will be virtual, the evangelical base of the Chamber is trying to force the postponement of the discussions so that they can take place as soon as the work returns to face-to-face meetings.
There is no legal basis for the postponement of the discussion of Bill 442/91 so that it only occurs when the Chamber returns to face-to-face meetings and it will be up to Arthur Lira to deliberate on the request of evangelical leaders so that the project is not discussed in the Virtual Plenary.
As there is great interest on the part of the president of the Chamber to vote on the project, it is expected that Lira's decision will be to start discussions immediately. At the end of the year, he declared that “the legalization of gaming in Brazil has been a long-debated issue. And it has to be done with a lot of debate. Those who defend legalization will say the reason, those who are against it will express their vision. We will have the opportunity to find out who wants that gaming to remain illegal in Brazil as it is today.”
According to Lira, “everyone knows that there is a casino, that there is bingo, there are slot machines, virtual bets, which are charged to the credit card and paid abroad, jogo do bicho. But does it have to continue in hiding to continue without generating formal jobs in Brazil? Without paying, more or less, R$ 20 billion to R$ 25 billion in taxes for the Brazilian people? This debate will take place here. Now, the form, we’ll discuss it,” he added.
The Bill's rapporteur, deputy Felipe Carreras, believes that the matter will go to the vote as soon as the legislative work is reopened. He said he was confident of a quick approval of the proposal in February. “There is a commitment made by several leaders that we vote as soon as the recess is over,” assured Carreras.
According to people familiar with the situation, the rapporteur would have already spoken with the president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), and with Senator Veneziano Vital do Rego (MDB-PB), who will report the proposal in the House. Both would be in line with Carreras' arguments and defend the speed of approval of the project.
In other words, Bill 442/91 will most likely be discussed and voted on in the Virtual Plenary in the coming days so that it can be sent to the Senate for final deliberation and subsequent forwarding to the Planalto Palace. The President of the Republic, Jair Bolsonaro, said he will veto it, but admitted that Congress itself must override his veto. From now on, everything will depend on the political negotiations around the topic. Both in the House and in the Senate, there are enough votes for the approval of the regulatory framework for gaming in Brazil.
Source: GMB
