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As the land-based gambling Bill 2234/2022 awaits its fate in Brazil’s Senate, the same names surface time and again in debates over the future of casinos. Vixio takes a look at some key players in the Senate who could direct the fate of casinos and bingo halls in the country and, equally, who will not have a say.
It should be noted that this gambling bill has been on the docket in some form since 1991 and in its current form would regulate land-based gaming such as casinos and gaming halls. It is more controversial than the sports-betting law, as sports betting is seen as a cultural pastime that will happen regardless, which is in fact the argument that was made when the sports-betting bill was passed. However, other forms of gambling attract the ire of the evangelical political block who have long claimed that other types of gambling are a sin.
Former President Jair Bolsonaro was notably a member of this team, although his views were widely believed to be opportunistic.
The first person of note is the most powerful politician in Brazil, who even President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has to answer to, Arthur Lira. Lira is not a senator, he is a member of the Chamber of Deputies, and therefore will not have a direct say.
Lira was, memorably, the reason that the sports-betting provisional measure was rejected and a regular bill, now law 14.790, was instead drafted. A provisional measure would not have been guaranteed to pass through the Chamber of Deputies and under Lira’s watchful eye, whereas a bill would.
The other big name in politics for anything to do with sport, albeit for very different reasons, cuts a more staid figure.
Brazilian football legend turned Senator Romário was the rapporteur for the old sports-betting bill as it made its way through the sports commission in the Senate.
He has mainly concerned himself with match-fixing, as a rapporteur he proposed and later withdrew an amendment prohibiting bets on “isolated events” during games, including yellow or red cards, conceding a corner or throw-ins.
He was also the senator, along with fellow key players Eduardo Girão and Carlos Portinho, who requested the second parliamentary commission inquiry (CPI) on suspicious sports betting.
Girão is the loud leader of senators who have vehemently stood against gambling in all its forms, espousing its moral and societal evils on many occasions. Girão is a religious man, whose Instagram biography describes him as “Christian, Pro-life, anti drugs and anti gambling.”
In the past, Girão submitted dozens of amendments to sports gambling bill 3623/2023, attempting to disallow casino games. He then voted to delay the bill when it was included.
He has also more recently proposed banning celebrities, influencers and athletes from participating in advertising games.
Udo Seckelmann, a gambling expert and lawyer at Bichara e Motta in São Paulo, believes that even senators who are vocally opposed to the casino bill privately know it is a foregone conclusion.
“Mainly what appears in the news here are the congressmen that are against it. I believe most of them know that this is a reality, and we should legalise other verticals, and we should regulate it, because this is going to happen whether we legalise it or not.
"I think they want the revenues that this is going to generate for Brazil.”
As for Girão (and his allies): “He has his views, his beliefs, and he doesn't want to hear other positions.”
Carlos Portinho, a senator from Rio de Janeiro, is another player to watch. He is the senator who confirmed the Brazilian government’s decision in June 2022 to delay the sports-betting provisional measure, effectively ending any hope of income from the FIFA world cup in the winter of that year. It was, reportedly, in an attempt to appear Bolsonaro and his evangelical fans.
His previous career was as sports lawyer, and he once served as the vice president of legal affairs for Flamengo football club.
As far back as 2022, before Brazil’s match-fixing scandal broke, Portinho was laser focused on match-fixing.
“I understand that we need to find sources of funding. It needs to be regulated, international companies are out there selling bets, making a lot of money and paying nothing [in taxes]. What worries me is the manipulation of results, not the bets. There is already manipulation in sports, in football, I have followed cases as a lawyer. Doing nothing is worse. This issue will move forward after the elections. I was very honest with Arthur Lira that there is resistance in the Senate,” he said at the time in an interview with Valor.
Long-suffering Senate president Rodrigo Pacheco is a man who historically likes to stick to a timeline, although he is most often thwarted.
In comments to the Senate in June, he insisted that the bill would be voted on after the parliamentary recess that occurred in August. “There is no need to rush this, we can vote on it perfectly well after the recess. But it will be voted on, it will be.”
He has been adamant to move gambling forward, refusing a request to send the bill to the Economic Affairs Committee before it reached the Senate plenary.
“This issue has passed the committee stage, now it is time to find a date to discuss it in the plenary session of the Federal Senate. This issue has already been sufficiently discussed, those who are in favor are in favor, those who are against are against. Everyone has their arguments."
Pacheco was an advocate of legalizing and regulating sports betting, at the time he opined that the economy needed the tax dollars.
The bill’s rapporteur, Senator Irajá, will be the one defending his project in the plenary. The young senator from Tocantins has openly said that fears of money laundering are outdated and manufactured by Hollywood.
He also recently and memorably commented: “We are seeing the entire world legalize gambling. All 38 OECD countries have already legalized it, with only Iceland being an exception … . So the whole world cannot be wrong and only Brazil can be right.”
The bill is expected to be discussed on the Senate floor this autumn and to be passed by the end of the year. The aforementioned names will be the ones that come up time and again, regardless of their influence, due to their dedication and involvement to religion, Brazil or sport itself.
