Banned since the 1890s yet widely played until recently, Rio betting game has strong links to carnival, football and gangs
t the intersection of two of the busiest streets in the Copacabana neighbourhood, just a five-minute walk from Rio de Janeiro’s most famous beach, it is possible to play a gambling game created 134 years ago – and banned for almost as long.Sitting on a plastic chair in front of a bar, he calmly records bets on his mobile phone – previously it would have been a paper slip.
“It’s impossible to tell the history of Rio without Jogo do Bicho,” said the historian and writer Luiz Antônio Simas, who has just launched aAt the time, Rio regarded itself as a European city. A wealthy businessman, the Baron of Drummond, bought an old slavery plantation near the city centre and decided to transform it into Brazil’s first “planned” neighbourhood, inspired by
Other gambling activities enjoyed by the wealthy, such as horse betting, remained legal while Jogo do Bicho was outlawed in 1895.Depending on the city, there can be up to five daily draws, seven days a week, with prizes varying according to the order in which the numbers appear. “The younger generations no longer have interest in it. And it doesn’t bring in that much money for its bankers any more,” said Magalhães, who also wrote a book about the animal lottery.
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