“We are in an electoral year and it is unlikely that politicians will choose to defend an issue as sensitive as the game that many people are linked to with the washing of money and criminal activity, especially if it involves a long list of corruption scandals involving local politicians”, I say to GIEspañol Neil Montgomery, managing partner and founder of the law firm Montgomery & Associados.
The general elections in Brazil will be held in October of this year. Among them, the president and vice-president will be elected, as well as the National Congress, state governors and vice-governors and state legislative associations.
“One of the greatest obstacles to the legalization of gambling is the religious opposition”, he assured Montgomery. “The politicians who form the evangelical bench in Congress are very strong and Brazil continues to be the largest Catholic country in the world”.
To Montgomery, there is a fear of compulsive gambling and a generalized belief that gambling and crime are my own. “The Federal Tax Authority has also ruled against legalization”.
This includes a previous event, the Russian World Cup, which will begin on June 14th, and which, according to the managing director of the firm based in San Pablo, will cause the country to “come to a complete standstill during the competition”.
Currently, there are two legal projects in the Congress that have as their object legalizing the game and the games. One, in the Senate (PLS 186/14) and the other, in the Chamber of Diputados (PL 442/9). "Si there are some differences between them, both chambers have reached an agreement on the main terms and conditions. The draft law in the Senate has been rejected by its Constitution and Justice Committee, but it can only be approved by the Pleno", he explained. Helena Calderano, law firm of Montgomery & Associados.
However, I warn that there is a lot of pressure from lobbyists to support the proposal pushed by the Ministry of Tourism that seeks to legalize only casinos as part of integrated resorts. From this sector, they argue that they are the ones that will attract the biggest investments.
Vinicius Lummertz, the famous Brazilian Minister of Tourism, published a column this week in the newspaper The Globe which calls for regulating casino resorts in an “urgent” manner.
"We have to separate integrated resorts from other types of investments. For tourism, what matters is the regulation of integrated resorts because it attracts investment from international groups and promotes business tourism and events", said Lummertz. “As more than 13 million Brazilians suffer the cause of unemployment, the Congress has to vote on a bill that would generate more than 50.000 million reales in investments and 100.000 jobs”.
This proposal has been criticized by several sectors that defend the game, as they consider that it does not reach the current demand in the country.
"It all depends on what happens in the elections. For example, there is a very popular candidate, Jair Bolsonaro, who is famous for his conservatism. Even though he has stated that he does not oppose the legalization of gambling, it is likely that he will only allow it in an environment of restrictions. Once the elections are over, we will be better off to evaluate the subject of the game”, he explained Montgomery.
One of the greatest fears of the Brazilian population is that the authorities do not have sufficient resources and knowledge to inspect game providers. Furthermore, it is believed that legalization could promote the washing of money and white-collar crimes. “Taking into account the current political situation and dealing with the scandals that arose when the Autolavado Operation was public, society was in doubt”, he commented.
Furthermore, he explained that Brazil is an extremely regulated jurisdiction and “everything seems to indicate that legal gambling activity will not be the exception to the rule”. “It is likely that the gaming regulation only creates burdens and obligations for providers, rather than limiting the scope of activities”, I say.
“A realistic conclusion to the legalization of gambling in Brazil is 2019”, he predicted. "We have to see how the political scenario is configured after the elections. Lobby efforts to approve integrated resorts are strong and the new Minister of Tourism is appointed in this direction. But next year there could be another person occupying this position".
At the moment, the panorama is uncertain. We will have to wait until the October series, when Brazilians run for the polls.
*Article published in Gaming Intelligence en Español, on 07/06/2018.
