The operation of casinos and other games of chance modalities have been banned in the country for exactly 73 years, by virtue of a decree signed by then President Eurico Gaspar Dutra, arguing that such activities would be degrading to humans. Beyond the official version, it is now taken for granted that Dutra actually bowed to the pressure of his wife, Dona Carmela, motivated by her Catholic devotion. Dutra certainly did not end the gaming activity, just as he could not imagine that the Brazilian state would later be a monopoly lottery operator, where bets are counted in the millions. Nor did he end discussions about the release of the activity, a matter that would have already reached the office of the President of the Republic.
Bolsonaro would have admitted "consultations" about this, but, as the world goes round, he does not seem concerned with the position of Catholics, but rather with listening to what the evangelicals think about the isuue, publicly opposed to the project, but open to discussing alternatives. Meanwhile the Ministry of Tourism is pragmatic, taking care to remember that 93% of the countries that make up the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), where Brazil has so far unsuccessfully sought a seat, have open casinos. In the same way in the country and the number of foreign visitors, today around 6.5 million a year, could at least triple. And may mean, in the accounts of an unusual Brazilian Association of Bingos, Casinos and Similars, annual revenue of R$ 30 billion (US$ 7b), also considering the lotteries and other activities involving betting.
These are numbers, or possibilities, that should sound like music in the ears of Minister Paulo Guedes, who must also know that in the accounts put into discussion do not enter equally relevant indirect advantages. Of course, there should be no room for intolerance as much as for the misconception that lower-budget parents were being protected by the same state that sponsors and handles lotteries, as accessible and as tempting as slot machines.
To sum up - and conclude - it would be necessary to say that everything is now and in the distant year of 1946 a good dose of hypocrisy, whose cost to the country can be estimated from a very simple account. If in one year the release could yield R$ 30 billion (US$ 7b) in taxes alone, how much would have been left in 73 years? Counting losses should be enough to make the only decision that makes sense.
December 3rd Editorial of “Diário do Comércio”
