Lira marks vote on gambling, and evangelicals already articulate obstruction in plenary

Under opposition from religious groups, the president of the Chamber, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), will try to vote this Wednesday (23) on the project that legalizes gambling, such as the animal game, bingo and casino, but even within of his party there is an assessment that the agenda can be left for after Carnival.

Lira publicly defends that the issue be faced by the deputies, to the annoyance of the evangelical and Catholic benches, which are articulated to obstruct the vote this Wednesday.

In the Chamber, the request that speeds up the processing of the text was approved in December, in the last session of last year, in a negotiation that involved the vote on a PEC (proposed amendment to the Constitution) that exempts properties rented by religious temples from IPTU. At the time, Lira stated that she intended to put the project on the agenda in February.

This Tuesday, the president of the Chamber defended the vote on two occasions. In the morning, at a BTG Pactual conference, he admitted the need to make adjustments to the opinion of deputy Felipe Carreras (PSB-PE), rapporteur of the text. He said that the animal game and illegal casinos are a reality in the country.

“We have online games. The Brazilian team is sponsored by a website that deals with online games. There are advertisements around all the football fields. You click on a website like that, a virtual casino opens”, he said. “The Brazilian enters with his credit card, plays, bets and the tax is paid in the United Kingdom, in Germany.”

“So it’s pure demagoguery or interests of sectarian groups not wanting this debate to go ahead,” he criticized. “And we are not proposing any kind of perk, it’s a hard rule, with clear compliance, to avoid all the evil versions that are put on top of this topic.”

Upon arriving at the Chamber, in the late afternoon, Lira spoke again about the matter and confirmed the vote for this Wednesday. “Of course, this is a demand that goes along naturally with deputies in favor, with deputies against. The rapporteur has the obligation to walk in all the leaderships and try to clarify as close as possible to reality, with reliability, so that the deputies can position.”

He acknowledged that there was resistance in the opposition and in the evangelical bench, but said that the vote was an opportunity for Congress to take a stand on the issue. Within the PP, Lira’s party, there were doubts about the possibility of the proposal being voted on this Wednesday. That’s because until the beginning of the night the report with the changes made by Carreras was not available in the system.

In addition, parliamentarians from parties such as the MDB, PSD, Republicans and União Brasil said they had not even been informed by the rapporteur about the changes. Even so, allies Lira confirmed that the vote would take place this Wednesday, although without an agreement.

Faced with Lira’s confirmation that he intends to vote on the text this Wednesday, religious entities issued notes to position themselves against the project. The CNBB (National Conference of Bishops of Brazil) stated that its position was “non-negotiable” against the legalization of gambling.

“The arguments that this release will increase tax collection, favor the creation of jobs and help to get Brazil out of the current economic crisis, follow the repugnant thesis that the ends justify the means”, he criticized. “It is up to us, for ethical and evangelical reasons, to warn that gambling brings irreparable moral, social and, particularly, family damages.”

President of the evangelical parliamentary front, deputy Sóstenes Cavalcante (DEM-RJ) defended that the project be voted on with the face-to-face plenary — the Chamber adopted the semi-presential format because of the increase in cases of the Ômicron variant. “In democracy, you win and you lose, as long as it is a broad, unrestricted debate, that’s what we expect,” he pointed out. In his opinion, Lira should be less partial when it comes to the discussion.

“But it is a right that he has to demonstrate his alignment with the agenda, and we have to articulate and overthrow it, even though we know that we are fighting the president of the House.”

Sóstenes spent the beginning of the night articulating with parliamentarians from the front to try to obstruct the vote this Wednesday. According to him, evangelical parliamentarians from parties such as the PSC, Republicans — linked to the Universal Church — and others defended the need to analyze the text before voting.

On Friday (18), Carreras indicated that among the points of disagreement about the text were the discussion about fantasy games, online betting and tourist casinos.

In his previous report, he intended to create a national gambling system, regulating the exploitation of casino, bingo and animal games, among others.