Brazil’s new online gambling market appears to have achieved what a century of public prosecutors have failed to do – smash the country’s Mafia-controlled numbers rackets. Brazilian police officers during an anti- organized crime operation in Rio de Janeiro. The “animal game,” a street lottery long controlled by gangsters, is on the wane thanks to online gambling. (Image: Brookings.edu) Brazilians are increasingly rejecting the formerly popular but illegal “jogo do bicho” – or “animal game” – for the convenience and bigger jackpot potential of mobile slots and digital sports betting. Online gambling has exploded in popularity in Brazil since the legalization of sports betting in 2018. And from January 1 this year, the government began licensing and regulating online casino gaming. The newly regulated market has the potential to quickly become one of the biggest in the world, and this has sparked anxiety in Brazil about negative social impact. But one unexpected social upside appears to be the near elimination of an important Mafia… Read More
Category: Crime & Scandals, Brazil, jogo do bicho. Animal lottery, Mafia, online gaming
Source: Casino.org
