The movement is recorded in documents obtained by Folha and also in the reports of people involved, made under confidentiality.
In February 2024, the FP sent a technical note directly to Senator Irajá Abreu, the bill's rapporteur, in which it defends the proposal. This type of document is produced by the technical team of government agencies or third sector institutions, and serves as a subsidy for analyses or decisions related to the topics they deal with.
When contacted, the Federal Police stated that it had already issued some technical notes on the subject, pointing out a series of problems related, for example, to money laundering, including while the bill was being processed in the Chamber of Deputies.
At the time mentioned and when it was in favor of the bill, the corporation says that it did not analyze its content. However, when questioned by the Ministry of Justice, the agency expressed itself “in a forceful manner” against the text.
“Therefore, the Federal Police reaffirms its total opposition to the merits of the bill in question”, stated the General Director of the PF, Andrei Rodrigues, in an official letter sent to the press.
The Ministry of Justice reiterates its understanding against the proposal, and that this position was communicated to the Secretariat of Institutional Relations.
The Justice Department states that the consolidation of positions on legislative proposals is the responsibility of the ministry, through the SAL (Secretariat of Legislative Affairs), and that technical agencies can be consulted “only to subsidize” this action.
Subordinate bodies can express their views on projects, but, as a rule, the official position is up to the superior body – in this case, the Ministry of Justice.
As Folha de S.Paulo portal showed, there was only one exception: part of the money raised by the area should go directly to Funapol (Fund for the Equipment and Operation of the Core Activities of the Federal Police).
The document was sent to the Senate by the corporation's parliamentary affairs department, based on an analysis by Dicor (Directorate for Investigation and Combating Organized Crime and Corruption).
According to three people who are following the progress of the project, this position was not approved by the Ministry of Justice.
Two of these people say that meetings were already taking place to discuss the issue, but at that time there was no firm position from the department or the Lula government on the matter.
To this day, ministries disagree on the matter – the Treasury, Tourism, Labor and Social Development, among others, either support or have not expressed objections to the project.
In June of last year, the project reported by Irajá was approved by the Constitution and Justice Committee. The proposal was even discussed in the plenary, but stalled.
When the Ministry of Justice decided to define its own position, it called on the Federal Police to support this understanding.
In November 2024, the Federal Police sent a new analysis – this time not to the Senate, but to the ministry. In this new document, the same parliamentary affairs department once again relies on Dicor, but this time changes its understanding and states that the project “should not prosper”.
Prohibited since 1946, gambling is offered clandestinely in several parts of the country.
The bill to legalize gambling advanced in the Senate in the wake of the legalization of online betting, known as 'Bets'. The text is waiting to go to the plenary, but there is resistance, especially from the evangelical bench.
As in the case of betting, advocates of the legalization of physical casinos and the jogo do bicho argue that these activities already exist in Brazil today, but outside the law, which does not allow for oversight.
The bill deals with four types of gambling in physical environments (bingos, casinos, jogo do bicho and horse racing) and sets out requirements, limitations and rules for these activities to operate, in addition to penalties for irregularities.
In the technical note from February 2024, the PF did not mention the historical links between jogo do bicho and organized crime, nor did it make any special reservations regarding the possibility of casinos and bingos being used for money laundering – a central concern of the Ministry of Justice.
It stated that the approval of the bill, with new criminal types linked to these activities, “as well as related crimes, such as money laundering,” should increase the demand on the FP, which will therefore need to invest in this area.
The police also claimed that it does not have the authority to take a position on legislative matters.
In November, “the Federal Police immediately understood that it was necessary to reject the bill and its amendments in its entirety, as it believed that it was harmful to public safety.”
According to the FP, the monitoring instruments provided for are weak and do not allow for the State to take due action.
If, “unfortunately, it is not possible to reject the bill in its entirety,” the FP is requesting adjustments, for example, the exclusion of the animal game from the text or that the current system for preventing money laundering be maintained – instead of creating a new mechanism.
The police are repeating their request that part of the revenue from the sector be allocated to Funapol.
Shortly after that, in early December, the Ministry of Justice files its official position, opposing the matter.
Source: Folhapress
