A session in the Senate is planned for tomorrow to talk about a proposal to regulate casino, bingo, and horseracing activities.

Key Points

• Tomorrow, the Brazilian Senate plans to look at a proposal meant to introduce rules for land-based gambling.
• The regulations in the bill cover how land-based casinos, bingo, and horseracing should operate.
• Operators who want to enter the market have to show they have at least BR 10 million in paid-up capital before they apply for a license.

Bill 2,234/2022 passed by the Chamber of Deputies and then discussed in the Senate’s Constitution and Justice Committee (CCJ) last summer, now moves to a hearing tomorrow in the Senate, aiming to make land-based casinos, bingo, and horse racing legal. Integrated casinos could be allowed inside tourist spots, leisure resorts, or hotels that have more than 100 rooms if the bill gets approval, and this follows the January regulation of iGaming and sports betting in Brazil.

Proposed Brazilian Gambling Bill Outlines Casino Limits, Bingo Regulations, and Advertising Restrictions

A more detailed part of the bill allows for one casino in each state and in the Federal District, but São Paulo would be able to have three casino locations, while Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, Amazonas, and Pará could each have two. Bingo rules in the proposed bill will be for both online and land-based bingo, with permission for one bingo hall per city and, in larger cities, one for each group of 150,000 people. Operators need to prove a minimum paid-up capital of BR 10 million, which is equal to $1.83 million. Approved bingo operators can run their halls for as long as 25 years, and they can renew this licence for 25 more years if they wish.

The bill includes rules for riverboat casinos for vessels with over 50 rooms, giving the number of licences based on river length and how often the boats travel. Should the bill become law, slot machines must be registered and checked by the government. Each state or Federal District allows for one animal game operator per 700,000 residents, and horseracing groups that the Ministry of Agriculture gives permission to may run races. In May, the Senate also agreed on a new set of rules for gambling ads, blocking athletes, influencers, or celebrities from promoting betting and bringing other changes.