Brazil – The Changing Face Of Online Casino Gambling
The State Of Gambling In Brazil
By far the most populous and largest country in Latin America is Brazil. Here you’ll find all forms of gambling are illegal. But having said that, as you’ll see later, Brazil has an interesting relationship with games of chance. For a start, online casinos remain popular thanks to international operators.
Brazilians Love Of Gambling
The Brazilian population loves to gamble in spite of the fact that virtually all forms of jackpot games of chance are banned. One of the major beneficiaries of the Brazilian’s love of gambling is Las Vegas, where over 150,000 people visit from Brazil. In fact, over 200,000 people gamble at other legal destinations every year.
In spite of all gambling activities being illegal apart from lottery and horse racing, Brazilians still flock to bet on horses, football and on dogs, as well as many other sports. All of these betting activities take place under the radar and in unregulated markets.
Gambling Laws In Brazil
If the authorities find you gambling, then there are some serious civil penalties for players, such as fines between $500 to $50,000 (2,000 – 200,000 BRL). Having said that, the government doesn’t seem in a hurry to prosecute anybody. We have yet to see a single person getting a fine. In spite of international casinos being illegal, the government makes no effort to blacklist foreign casinos with IP blocking. In fact, the government doesn’t even interfere when it comes to the casino payment processing by native banks. It’s all rather like their laissez-faire attitude towards cigarette smokers and nude beachgoers, as these are also both illegal activities.
Because there are no clear laws governing international casinos it remains a grey area. Nevertheless, Brazilian gamblers are able to make use of these offshore casinos which are, non the less, forbidden from having any presence on Brazilian soil. This means that when you access an international casino, you will find there are no servers, infrastructure or call centres in Brazil.
Originally, Brazil’s ban on gambling was because it realised that many young men were turning into problem gamblers. During this period there were very few resources as far as public health care went for treatment and support. Today Brazil has its own Gamblers Anonymous which is the “Jogadores Anônimos Do Brasil.” As a given, all reputable and licenced offshore casinos will have international support sites such as GambleAware and Gamcare UK.
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The History of Gambling in Brazil
All gambling with perfectly legal in Brazil until 1941. That’s when the country’s new leader, Eurico Gaspar Dutra, banned all gambling. This was an attempt to stop the rise of organised crime. Only lotteries and horse racing survived this ban. Ever since there have been many laws which are passed. With many appealed as the different government factions fought to either introduce or ban gambling. This history of changes in the legal status of gambling means that the legal overview of gambling legislation is rather vague.
For example, in 1993, the “Zico Law”(Decree 981) allowed slot machines. Then the “Pele Law” (Decree 2.574) of 1998 allowed bingo halls. Yet only 2 years later, (thanks to a gambling-related corruption case becoming public knowledge) a new decree (9.981) was passed. This saw the banning of both of these activities by the Supreme Court in 2007.
Though the legal aspects of gambling were always just bubbling under the surface, the introduction of the internet put gambling back in the spotlight. New laws came into effect in 2008 and 2010 which were designed to regulate online gambling in Brazil. Unfortunately, they both failed. Today, a new bill was passed through the house known as Bill 442/91. This will give the individual states in the country the possibility of having their own casino establishments, providing they pay a licencing fee to the government. Also, online websites would be able to take players from across Brazil. But all offshore casino websites would now be indefinitely banned at the IP level.
Languages and Customer Support
Many international online casinos offer their services to players from Brazil. If you head over to their customer support, you noticed that many offer the Portuguese language. One of these is 22Bet Casino. The problem here is that European Portuguese is considerably different from the South American variation. However, if you get really stuck, then all online casinos with access to Brazil offer English language support as a given.
When you’re looking at online casinos, and in particular online support, it’s essential that you find one that offers 24/7 live chat. This means that any issues or problems you may have can be dealt with as quickly as possible by a real person. As you can imagine, this makes life so much easier. After all, it’s much more practical, even though all online casinos offer email support as a minimum.
Online Casino Games
All the top international casinos that offer games to Brazilian players will have a massive selection of both table and slot games. Furthermore, virtually all their games will be offered in “free play” or “demo mode.” This allows players to practise their gameplay and jackpot winning strategies without having to spend any money. Unfortunately, as you’re not contributing anything to the casino, you will not be able to win any prizes. But that’s not the important point here. By being able to practise you will become more confident, and by so doing, increase your jackpot winning chances.
What’s even better is that not only are the casino websites themselves offering an excellent selection of games, but you have to consider that all of these come from the world’s top game producers. You will commonly see top brands such as Microgaming, Red Tiger Gaming, Evolution Gaming, Play’n GO and Playtech. You can rest easy because many of these casinos will also have excellent licences from reputable gaming authorities.
Probably the best known of these are the UK Gambling Commission and the Malta Gaming Authority. Among other things, these licences ensure the games are fair, as well as truly random. One of our favourite online casinos, 22Bet Casino has a license from the UKGC. This makes the site 100% legal and fair.
Land-based Casinos in Brazil
What’s interesting in Brazil is that they say all gambling is technically illegal, yet you can still find legal land-based casinos. This craziness comes from the definition of “games of luck” and “games of skill.” As such the law differentiates between these. Although we are all well aware that, for example, the slots are a game of chance, nevertheless all these casinos will feature the slots along with such games as blackjack, roulette and jackpot poker.
Within Brazil you’ll find there are only 6 legal casinos:
- Hipódromo do Tarumã (Curitiba, Paraná)
- Winfil Entretenimento (Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul)
- Gavea Hippodrome (Rio de Janeiro)
- Hipódromo do Cristal (Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul)
- Hipódromo de Cidade (Cidade Jardim, São Paulo)
- Palácio Quitandinha (Quitandinha, Petrópolis)
Last February 2022, Brazilian deputies voted by 293 to 138 to allow various forms of gambling to be introduced into the country. Essentially, this will give the 26 individual States the power to set up their own casino resorts. The law would allow licences to be issued and also overturn the law banning games of chance. Right now everyone’s waiting for the President, Jair Bolsonaro, to sign it into law. Originally, he said that he would veto it, but keep in mind that the senate could override him.
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