Already in 2017, Jader Barbalho, PMDB Senator of Pará and father of the current governor, published an article in the Diário do Pará and his own website defending the legalization of the gaming sector in Brazil.
“Here in Pará, for example, we have a fantastic coastline and many places of rare beauty, with sensational river beaches that await investment in tourism. Can you imagine a casino in Marajó, or in Conceição do Araguaia, Alter do Chão, Salinópolis, Ajuruteua, Marudá and Mosqueiro? Surely there would be an increase in GDP and an improvement in the population's quality of life with the increase in tourist activity,” says Jader at that time.
Also, André Dias, the state tourism secretary, considers Belem, Salinas, Santarém, Marabá and Parauapebas as possible cities with casinos in the future. “We follow the tourism bench that has been working hard to get legalization discussed in the Chamber later this year,” added the tourism secretary to GMB.
“Initially, if we are talking about tourist flow, we have to think about the cities that have accessibility to airports, such as Belém, Salinas (which has an airport under construction), Santarém, Marabá, Parauapebas or near Marajó Island, which is a place where we have worked a lot of tourism and is in the mindset and imagination of people. It has to be places that already have a tourist flow, that has a tourist infrastructure, so that the visitor can really get to the place and have a service network that caters him,” commented Dias.
Source: GMB / Diario do Pará
