The senator spoke at the meeting that he had been in Singapore last May to learn about the operation of casinos in resorts in that country. There the ventures work in a similar way to what is proposed “in our bill that is being discussed here in the Senate. Register: resort casino, exclusively resort casino”, emphasized Roberto Rocha.
He cited the example of Marina Bay, which cost US$ 6.5 billion and has integrated a casino, a mall, an event center and a hotel with 2,800 rooms and 99% occupancy rate. “Singapore went from 6 million tourists to 18 million because its government made the decision to invest in public tourism policy, which Brazil has never done. So, it's not casino release just for gambling; is to release casino for public tourism, entertainment policy,” he said.
“I was very impressed, because the tourists there really spend a lot of money in the country. The casino area corresponds to 3% of the venture's complex and accounts for 75% of revenues. The tax is 100%, the collection is huge.” That is why Singapore has already passed Las Vegas in casino volume. Only loses today to Macau, which has 35 billion; Singapore, 5 billion, and Las Vegas, 4.5 billion," added the senator.
Already the diplomat highlighted the ability of the Republic of Singapore to define public policies that achieve short-term results. “Casinos in Singapore were licensed a short time ago. It was not until 2006 that the local government allowed this business sector to come into existence in the country. Since then, these casinos have surpassed the turnover of Las Vegas casinos and are second only to the Macau casino industry," recalled Eugenia Barthelmess.
Finally, the senator said that Brazil should follow the good examples. “Japan didn't have a casino either, and now it's legalized. As Japan is larger, about the size of Maranhão, it has four licenses. While Singapore has two, Japan has four. They give permissions exclusivity to those who put their billions of dollars there,” concluded Rocha.
Source: GMB
