Brazil Outlaws Playing Poker In Public

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Tuesday, August 18th, 2015 | Written by Charles Washington

Brazil’s citizens are restricted to just legal horse racing and lottery products, but last year Senator Ciro Nogueira introduced a piece of gambling law, Bill 671-2015, designed to establish a legal gambling framework in the South American nation. One of the aims of the bill was to introduce sports betting additions at land-based lotteries, bingo and licensed racing track events, and as Nogueira explained at the time:

“A bill is necessary since a prohibitive approach to gambling does not work, as the truth is that no one will ever give up playing only because it is forbidden. Among the 193 countries that are members of the United Nations. Some 75.52 percent of them have legalised gambling, while Brazil is among the 24.48 per cent who do not.”

Furthermore, around three-quarters of the countries that haven’t adopted legislation are Islamic, and therefore against gambling on religious grounds. Nevertheless, Brazil has thus far failed to advance iGaming regulation and create a legal structure, even though estimates suggest $8 billion is wagered each year on unregulated sports betting sites.

Legislation Stalled

In July of this year, Bill 671-2015 actually passed in the legislature, but stalled after President Dilma Rousseff (photo) vetoed 36 provisions, including legislation that would have legalized fixed-odds sports betting. Explaining her rationale, Rousseff said that this sport betting product needed “a more comprehensive regulation, to ensure greater legal and economic security to the sport, adequate levels of fraud control and tax evasion.”

The recent failure to adopt legislation has stirred worries that legislation could now be delayed for at least the next year or two, and it has even been suggested President Dilma may have come under pressure to block Bill 671-2015 by political circles. As mentioned on sbcnews:

“Brazilian political analysts have argued that with so many stakeholders interested in licensed sports betting, the country offers difficult conditions in which to set satisfactory laws on the subject matter.”

No Gambling In Public

While stalling amendment to Brazil’s existing laws, Rousseff did approve a law which made it illegal to gamble in a public place, either live or online, with those convicted facing stiff fines and potential jail time. The lack of legal progress followed by a draconian law being introduced has added to the general sense of confusion, and come as quite a surprise to the country’s gamblers, as Brazil is South America’s largest gambling market with over 8 million players gambling online at unregulated international sites. What caused the provision to be passed is not at all clear, although some analysts have speculated it may be to protect minors from developing gambling habits. As a result, anyone caught gambling in public could now face a fine of between $575 and $575,000, as well as up to three months behind bars if convicted.

Poker As A Sport

One group of gamblers to be affected by the recent lack of progress on gambling legislation are Brazil’s poker players. Although they are unlikely to be affected by not playing in public, as players usually prefer to play from the comfort of their own homes, they may feel surprised to be lumped into the same category as casino games and other games of pure chance. Ironically, as far back as 2012 the Brazilian Ministry of Sport acknowledged poker as a game that required an individual to develop a wide mix of skills in order to succeed. The organization subsequently appointed the Brazilian Conferederação Texas Hold’em (CBTH) as the game’s official governing body in Brazil, with the Ministry of Sport noting at the time that “poker has achieved respect and recognition from society as a fun game that requires concentration, training and study.”

Poker’s Growing Popularity

The recent lack of progress on gambling legislation is even more perplexing considering the popularity of poker in Brazil, which has been driven forward in recent years by the success of the country’s increasing number of talented pros. In 2008, for instance, Alexandre Gomes became Brazil’s first ever WSOP bracelet winner, and since then Andre Akkari (2011) and Thiago Nishijima (2015) have followed suit. In 2014, Brazil had its first WSOP Main Event final tablist, too, Bruno Politano, and despite finishing in 8th place for $947,172 his deep run generated a huge level of excitement and support back home. Further interest in poker has been created by some of the country’s most revered soccer players being sponsored by PokerStars to promote the game, including Ronaldo and Neymar Jr.