Clearly, God, or maybe just that giant statute of Christ the Redeemer that hovers over Rio de Janeiro, does not want Brazilians to have legal gambling options.

Wednesday’s scheduled vote on the Brazilian Senate’s oft-delayed PLS 186/2014 gambling legislation by the Constitutionality and Justice Committee (CCJ) was abandoned shortly after the CCJ began its weekly meeting due to legislators being summoned to an urgent plenary session of Congress.

For the record, this marks the third straight week that the CCJ scheduled a vote on PLS 186/2014 without actually taking a vote. There’s a small chance that the CCJ could discuss the bill at a possible hearing next Wednesday (20), but according to Games Magazine Brazil, CCJ president and Senator Edson Loboão didn’t leave much hope of that happening when he wished all those present a Merry Christmas before leaving the room.

PLS 186/2014 would authorize a massive expansion of Brazil’s legal gambling options, including land-based casinos, online sports betting and casino games, and the jogo de bicho ‘animal game’ lottery. Similarly delayed gambling legislation in the Chamber of Deputies (PL 442/1991) appears equally unlikely to make any further progress until 2018.