Zona de Azar Brazil – Brazil: Senator Blames Government for ‘Bets Tragedy’ and Warns About Bingos and Casinos

Brazil.- September 27, 2024, www.zonadeazar.com. Senator Eduardo Girão (Novo-CE), in a speech in the Senate Plenary this Tuesday (24), criticized the regulation of sports betting through a provisional measure approved last year (MP 1.182/2023). According to him, the measure “facilitated the entry of organized crime into the sector.” He cited investigations involving criminal factions such as the PCC and Comando Vermelho.

In his speech, the senator also warned about the risks associated with gambling addiction. According to Girão, in countries where betting has been legalized, up to 5% of the population is addicted. According to his calculations, this could mean 10 million affected people in Brazil. For the senator, gambling addiction has led to an increase in crime and suicide.

― After addiction, after losing everything, from material goods to employment, the despair caused by enormous debts and shame has led millions of people to suicide. An article published by The New York Times shows that between 50% and 80% of gambling addicts have thought about suicide, and between 13% and 20% have either attempted or committed suicide ― he emphasized.

Girão also called on his colleagues to reject the bill (PL 2.234/2022), which authorizes the installation of bingos and casinos in Brazil. He argued that the project, approved by the Constitution and Justice Committee (CCJ), “will cause economic and social damage to the country.”

The senator mentioned data from the National Confederation of Trade in Goods, Services, and Tourism (CNC), which points to a loss of R$117 billion per year in commerce due to the increase in sports betting. Girão also highlighted that between January and August 2024, beneficiaries of the Bolsa Família program spent more than R$11 billion on gambling, further exacerbating poverty and increasing the number of indebted families.

― This project involves more than a thousand bingos and 67 casinos, all directed towards a Spanish group. It is a shame that the Federal Senate is voting on such a matter! And I hope that all my colleagues have the good sense that if the president dares to put this up for a vote, especially after all this data, we unanimously reject it, because the damage will be much greater for the country, benefiting a few at the expense of tens of millions of Brazilians losing ― he said. Source: Agência Senado

Edited by: @_fonta www.zonadeazar.com