The discussion table was attended by Herculano Passos, President of FrenTur; Bacelar, president of the Gaming Front; and Newton Cardoso Jr, president of the House of Representatives Tourism Commission. Representing the tourism sector was the president of FBHA - Brazilian Federation of Lodging and Food- Alexandre Sampaio; and the gaming sector was represented by the lawyer and Secretary of the OAB Special Sports Law, Lottery and Entertainment Law Commission, Daniel Homem de Carvalho and the President of the IJL (Brazilian Legal Gaming Institute), Magnho José.
Congressman Herculano Passos spoke about the direct importance of the sector, with generation of 500 thousand jobs, but also in an indirect way for economic development. He cited the example of Las Vegas, where about 70 percent of the revenue comes from non-gambling activities.
“The impact will be great because it will generate 500,000 jobs. Today we have almost 13 million unemployed and the sector could be very important in that way. And those direct jobs could be added just with gaming positions working in hotels and casinos. But there are a lot of potential indirect jobs because gaming is not just betting. In Las Vegas, for example, 30 percent of the revenue comes from gambling, and 70 percent from commerce, world events, conventions, music shows, and sports. That is, the movement that brings the betting sector, which is a draw for all this tourism, generates jobs, warms the economy and generates revenue for the government. So, our interpretation of the legalization of gaming is to bring wealth and benefit to Brazil,” said Passos.
Still talking about Las Vegas, the chairman of the Tourism Commission, Dep Newton Cardoso Jr, commented about his trip with a delegation of congressmen to the American city to learn more about the gaming sector. He gave some details about the lecture held at the University of Las Vegas.
“I had the privilege of lecturing in Dr. Anthony Cabot’s regulatory gaming law class. And during the conversation we had the chance to present a little of the situation in Brazil, show some numbers, to a group of mostly graduated students looking for a higher education, but linked to the tourism sector. They all work in integrated casinos, hotels or resorts or related activities. The interaction we had in that classroom can show us how important gaming activity is as one of the drivers of development,” says the Deputy.
Then, Deputy Barcelar spoke again about the importance of the economy and stressed that Brazilians already bet illegally every day, and that with that situation of lack of regulation the only one that loses is the state.
“Legal gambling may be the main alternative to take back the country's economy, generate more jobs and income. We are talking about 658 thousand direct jobs and 619 thousand indirect jobs! In addition, the government could collect, per year, R$ 19.8 billion (US$ 4.85bn) per year in taxes and nearly R$ 7 billion (US$ 1.7bn) in grants. Currently, more than 20 million Brazilians bet daily on clandestine gaming, what reaffirms that the Brazilian is not deprived of gambling, but the country loses in tax collection,” concluded the deputy.
Source: Games Magazine Brasil
