Brazil’s Supreme Court (STF) has scheduled the hearing for Extraordinary Appeal No. 966,177 for 23 April, which will determine whether the criminalisation of gambling, as provided for in the 1941 Criminal Offences Act, is compatible with the 1988 Constitution.
The issue originated in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, where the Public Prosecutor’s Office is challenging a ruling by the Appeals Panel of the Special Criminal Courts of the state, which considered that the 1941 Act was not included in the 1988 Federal Constitution and that operating gambling is not a crime.
The issue under discussion is the validity of Article 50 of the Criminal Offences Act, which punishes with simple imprisonment of three months to one year anyone who establishes or operates gambling in a public place or a place accessible to the public. If the Supreme Court upholds the understanding of Rio Grande do Sul’s Appeals Panel of the Special Criminal Courts, gambling will no longer be considered a criminal offence.
Therefore, there will be no legislation banning gambling as the activity will no longer be prohibited, but rather unregulated in Brazil. As a result, the government will have to regulate the land-based gambling sector, and it will be up to the National Congress to approve legislation for the activity.
Luiz Fux, the Justice presiding over the appeal, noted that the issue is controversial and involves constitutional matters of economic, political, social, and legal significance, extending beyond the subjective interests of the case.
“The issue submitted to this Federal Court for consideration is eminently constitutional, since the lower court dismissed the criminal nature of gambling on the basis of constitutional principles regarding free enterprise and fundamental freedoms,” stated Fux, acknowledging in 2016 that the matter should be discussed under the General Repercussion doctrine.
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If the Supreme Court rules that the 1988 Constitution did not incorporate the relevant provision of the Criminal Offences Act, gambling operation would no longer be considered a criminal offence in Brazil, and it would be up to the government to regulate the activity through a new law or to acknowledge that one is already pending in the National Congress, as it has already been approved by the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate Committee on Constitution and Justice. Bill No. 2,234 awaits only the decision of the House’s presidency to put the matter on the agenda.
Brazil is in a unique moment, where operating online gambling is legal while land-based gambling is considered a criminal offence and is banned. If the Supreme Court justices uphold the decision of Rio Grande do Sul’s Appeals Panel of the Special Criminal Courts and decriminalise the activity, Brazil could create tens of thousands of jobs, attract investments exceeding BRL 70 billion ($14 billion), and generate tax revenue.
If the Supreme Court upholds the validity of the Criminal Offences Act, the activity will remain banned until the Senate votes on the bill currently under consideration.
Original article: https://igamingbusiness.com/casino/brazilian-courts-decriminalisation-casinos/
