The rapporteur of Brazil’s casino legalisation bill, Senator Irajá Abreu, used the 15th LIDE Brazil Investment Forum in New York on 12 May 2026 to renew his push for Bill 2234/2022, telling business leaders that Brazilian tourism remained a “dormant industry” with under-explored potential and that legalising casinos could expand investment, stimulate the sector and bring the country closer to models already adopted internationally.
Irajá’s intervention came during the forum’s “Brazil and its future” panel, attended by, among others, the founder of LIDE and former governor of São Paulo, João Doria.
Bill 2234/2022 has been on the Senate plenary’s agenda since the Constitution and Justice Committee approved Irajá’s report on 19 June 2024 by 14 votes to 12. The text authorises the operation of casinos in integrated leisure complexes and on sea and river vessels, legalises bingo and video bingo, the street lottery known as the animal game (jogo do bicho) and betting on horse races, and caps the number of casino licences by state population.
The path to a plenary vote has been blocked for almost a year. On 17 December 2025 the plenary rejected an urgency request, filed by party leaders, by 36 votes to 28.
Irajá told the forum that the authorisation of casinos could increase investment, stimulate tourism and bring Brazil into line with international models, ending the panel with a call for the country to set aside ideological prejudices on economic matters considered strategic for national development.
He had earlier put projected investment associated with the bill at around 100 billion reais and projected tax revenue at more than 20 billion reais a year, centred on integrated resort complexes including hotel, casino, shopping and gastronomic facilities.
Organised opposition remains. The Senate’s evangelical caucus, led by Carlos Viana, has publicly committed to blocking the bill, while the government leader in the Senate, Jaques Wagner, has previously said there is no political climate to vote on the matter, citing the public backlash against online betting.
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The rapporteur of Brazil’s casino legalisation bill, Senator Irajá Abreu, used the 15th LIDE Brazil Investment Forum in New York on 12 May 2026 to renew his push for Bill 2234/2022, telling business leaders that Brazilian tourism remained a “dormant industry” with under-explored potential and that legalising casinos could expand investment, stimulate the sector and…
The post Brazil’s casino bill rapporteur pushes legalisation at New York investment forum appeared first on G3 Newswire.