Evangelical Caucus in Congress to Bar Legal Casino in Rio de Janeiro

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Although Marcelo Crivella is the best-known evangelical name in politics, at least in theory, as he is the mayor of the second-largest city in the country, his evangelical colleagues are not excited about the prospect of legal casinos.

Pastor Marco Feliciano and one of the leaders of the Evangelical Front caucus in the Chamber of Deputies, said the group is entirely against the idea of a casino in Rio, and that there is no room for negotiation. In his view, gambling leads to addiction and destroys families.

It seems that Feliciano and other deputies do not know (or do not care) what the liberation of gaming can bring to Rio de Janeiro, where tourism alone could inject R$27 billion(US$6.75 billion) per year.

For comparison purposes, Rock in Rio 2019 generated R$1.7 billion. Further, it is possible Brazil could raise R$58 billion in taxes on gambling.

Deputy Sóstenes Cavalcante says that an evangelical congressman who supports  legalization of any kind of gambling would have a huge impact on his electorate. He says that the Bible is against it… but there is no excerpt in the Holy Book for Christians forbidding or allowing gambling.

Linked to Pastor Silas Malafaia, Cavalcante says that this casino would open the door to money laundering, a crime for which his leader was already indicted in 2017.

Folha newspaper further points out that evangelicals are not the only ones against the liberation of gambling: CNBB (National Conference of Brazilian Bishops) also says that casinos can be tools for resources allowing criminal activities to take on the form of legitimate profits and revenues.

It seems that both evangelicals and Catholic bishops believe that we live in a country where there is no organized crime or money laundering. And that this evil would come into existence as a result of the liberation of a few casinos.

It is also worth remembering that gambling is legal in Brazil, except only as a government monopoly. The official lotteries — Sena, Mega Sena, Scratchcards — are hugely popular. Finally, horse races exist, and betting houses abound, but none of them brings a penny in tourist spending to Rio.

Source: Diário do Rio