Brasília, March 4, 2004 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - Workers who protested, yesterday (3), in Brasília against the Provisional Measure that prohibits bingo games and slot machines in the country were told by the Minister of Justice, Márcio Thomaz Bastos, that the government will not retreat on this question. He reaffirmed that these forms of gambling are outlawed in Brazil. "Though deeply sympathetic and profoundly supportive of the workers, our position at this moment is for the banning of these games," he said.

In his opinion, these games are prohibited until a broad debate is held on the matter. The Minister said that the illegality of these forms of gambling is an old story in Brazil. Bastos explained that a "normative confusion" exists in the area. According to him, the bingo parlors are subsisting on injunctions and decrees repealed by other decrees. "This legislative and normative babel ends now with the ban on the games, and later the National Congress will entertain a great debate," he observed. (DAS)