The visit of multi-billionaire businessman Sheldon Adelson, who will be today (Wednesday) in Brasilia with his team, is one of many. The city was also visited by James Murem, who heads the MGM Resorts group, famous for its casino venues in Las Vegas and one of Brazil's best-known places when it comes to gambling.
The list of companies interested in exploring the casino
market in the country has been growing every month. Even one of Las Vegas'
best-known figures, Jan Laverty Jones, a former mayor of the city, has been in
Brasilia, as she is now one of the top executives of Caesars Entertainment
Corporation, owner of Caesars Palace, one of the best known on the Las Vegas
Strip.
But it's not just Americans. Estoril Sol of Portugal and even the Austrian
state-run firm that operates casinos in Vienna have been in Brasilia presenting
the casino and entertainment industry as a tool to boost the tourism industry
in Brazil.
INVESTMENT IN RESORT
The legalization of casinos, however, is a subject
surrounded by controversy in Brazil. Many groups criticize the proposed
legalization, arguing that gambling could lead to money laundering, the
creation of criminal organizations and addiction. On the other hand, the
government has already convinced itself that the legalization of casinos will
help in the development of the economy. According to the MP Elman Nascimento
(DEM-BA), president of the special committee of the Chamber that analyzed the
topic, the expectation is of investments of US$ 25 billion.
"Brazil is one of the only democratic countries in which casinos are
banned. It is in the interests of these groups to invest in the country,
creating an integrated resort with a casino, and there is a high willingness to
invest. In addition to the groups from the United States and Europe, there are
still companies from Argentina and Uruguay with an eye on the country,
"said Nascimento.
In the meetings, Sheldon Adelson has said he intends to raise a US$ 8 billion
project in Brazil. The idea of the American billionaire is to create a
complex similar to his development in Macao, which now generates more than ten
thousand direct jobs and brings together convention center and even shopping
center. According to a source, the tycoon has said in his meetings that to
receive this venture, the city needs to have a 4 to 5 star hotel infrastructure
to absorb customers.
Yesterday, Rio de Janeiro’s Mayor Marcelo Crivella received Adelson at the City
Palace in Botafogo. Crivella said that the reason for the meeting was "to
bring investments" to Rio, without mentioning the word casino.
"He is one of the great investors in the real estate industry. We’ll talk about tourism, he is surely one of the biggest American fortunes and he has a lot of interest in Rio. Who knows if he can not help us in Porto Maravilha? Who knows, we can set up hotels, food courts, movie theaters, he's one of Las Vegas's greatest entrepreneurs, "said Crivella.
THE HOTEL NACIONAL, A POSSIBILITY
Adelson's advisory declined to comment. According to another
source, groups from abroad are already talking to hotels in Rio de Janeiro and
looking for land. One of the talks at an earlier stage calls for the
possibility of a casino in the former Hotel Nacional, in San Conrado, of HN
Construtora, recently reopened under the management of the Spanish group Meliá.
"A pre-arrangement was made for the construction of a hotel casino on a
US$50 million project," said one of the sources who declined to be
identified.
Hotel Nacional did not return to the report when asked. Today there are two
proposals to legalize casinos in Brazil: one in the Chamber of Deputies and
another in the Senate. In the House, the substitute report of the Commission on
the Regulatory Framework for Gaming has already been voted and is on the table
of the president of the House, Rodrigo Maia. In the Senate, the bill is in the
Constitution and Justice Commission. According to sources, the two projects
will converge to one, as a way to speed up voting in Congress. The idea is that
the text goes to plenary after the vote on the Social Security reform.
According to the proposal of the House, states with up to 15 million
inhabitants may have a casino; places between 15 and 25 million, two; and
states above 25 million, three. The Senate proposal mentions up to three gaming
venues per state.
"A uniform legislation is required. Illegal exploitation of gaming activities without authorization becomes a federal crime. This brings security to the investor. According to the project, all the betting machines in the casinos will be linked to the system of the Federal Revenue, what means that there will be an online monitoring," said Nascimento.
Source: GMB / O Globo
