Brazilian lawmaker calls for criminalization of illegal gambling

Deputy Jorge Goetten has urged the Government to take tougher action against unlicensed operators.

Brazilian Congressman Jorge Goetten is pressing the Federal Government to criminalize illegal gambling. 

He met with Régis Dudena, the Secretary of Prizes and Betting at the Ministry of Finance (SPA), to advance discussion on Bill 5144/2023. The SPA is the body that oversees betting operations in the country.

The Bill, authored by Goetten, proposes to define as a crime both the collection of bets and any advertising, propaganda or marketing actions carried out on behalf of unlicensed operators. 

He stressed that while regulation of the market is a positive step, criminalization is necessary to ensure enforcement and protect compliant operators.

“Without punishment, the serious operators end up paying for the bad ones, which compromises the credibility and balance of the market,” Goetten said.

Brazil has already legalized fixed-odds sports betting earlier this year, while Bill 2.234/22 remains under consideration in Congress. 

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That proposal also includes the legalization of casinos, bingo halls, video bingo, horseracing and the traditional jogo do bicho, a lottery-like game that is popular in Brazil.

The push for criminalization reflects concerns in Brasília that the growing regulated market will remain under pressure from widespread illegal operators unless stronger enforcement tools are introduced.

Carlos Mendez

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