Brazil – The President of Brazil reiterates his opposition to the gambling bill.

President Jair Bolsonaro has stated that games of chance “are not acceptable in Brazil” and that he will veto the bill. Bolsonaro went on to say that the situation is rife with infighting.

“You have to talk about numbers. In Parliament, an urgency regime for this project was approved, if I’m not mistaken, with 300-something votes. It’s a sign that, if I veto it here, as I said I would veto, it would be overthrown there. But it is a very big internal fight on the part of Parliament”, he said in an interview with Rádio Viva FM.

He also said that he had been approached by lawmakers who wanted to sound him out on the issue.

“I have already been asked by some leaders about how I would behave if the project were approved. I said I would veto it. They are prepared; obviously, it depends on the strength of each one within Parliament, which is an independent power, to approve the project. They, as far as I know, are convinced that, after the veto, they have the power to overturn the veto. My position as Chief Executive is that gambling is not welcome in Brazil”, he said

This is the third occasion since September that he has stated that he will exercise his veto power. Bolsonaro told the press in September that he would oppose the bill. In January, he restated his opposition to gambling, stating that he would veto any gaming legislation now being developed in the House of Deputies. “I make no apologies for my views. They can reverse a probable veto, based on the number of votes and urgency, from what I’ve observed. He stated, “I aim to veto the subject of games in Brazil.”

Bolsonaro’s remarks come as the bill moves through the Chamber of Deputies. The request to deal with bill PL 442/91, which legalizes casino and other sorts of gambling in the country, as a matter of urgency was accepted by deputies in December. The motion was passed after President of the Chamber of Deputies Arthur Lira met with representatives of various political groupings, including the opposition, and negotiated. Gambling Bill PL 442/91 will be debated in the House of Deputies in February 2022, according to Lira. Before then, legislators will be able to offer revisions to the bill.