Brazil's land-based casinos are waiting to go on after an urgent vote failed. 

This week, senators turned down an urgent vote request, which is another setback for Brazil's long-running effort to legalise casinos.

Brazil's land-based casinos
Brazil will have to wait a long time for land-based casinos to be allowed. A request for a speedy vote on the issue was turned down.

The Senate plenary voted 36 to 28 on Wednesday to turn down the plea for urgency on the land-based gaming measure.

This means that PL 2,234/2022 will go through the normal processing schedule, although it's not known yet when the vote will take place.

PL 2,234/2022 would make it lawful to have land-based casinos, bingo, jogo do bicho, and horse racing betting.

Last year, the Justice and Citizenship Committee authorised the bill, but progress has stopped because the vote has been pushed back multiple times.

Senator Irajá Abreu, who is in charge of PL 2,234/2022, said earlier this year that allowing gambling on land might bring in BRL20 billion ($3.6 billion) in taxes.

Senator Eduardo Girão, who is strongly against gambling, cautioned about the possible risks of making it legal on land. He said, "The project will attack not only people who currently gamble abroad, but also the poorest because bingo is involved."

Senator Weverton, on the other hand, thinks the bill should be voted on soon because of the money it could make.

Weverton said, "A real casino with rules will keep taxes in my state, and I'm going to say I'm against it?"

The wait for land-based casinos in Brazil goes on.
Since 1991, politicians in Brazil have been trying to make land-based gambling legal. PL 442/991 has gone through many changes over the years to reach what it is now.

But full legalisation is still being held up since it is so controversial, especially since online gambling, which was become legal on January 1 of this year, is under a lot of public and political pressure.

A lot of people thought that the progress achieved would finally lead to the legalisation of casinos this year. This was especially true when a DataSenado survey showed that 60% of Brazilian adults were in favour of their legalisation.

But this new blow makes it even less clear if and when regulated land-based gaming will be allowed.