The updates of the General Tourism Law will be appreciated soon by the National Congress, but an important activity was not addressed in its text: the legalization of gambling, which will mean the reopening of casinos in the country. Although the proposal that may regulate the issue is already ready for consideration by the plenary of the Senate and the House, and even with its high relevance for tourism in the country, it is still dividing the opinions of parliamentarians.
The House of Representatives Tourism Commission and the Joint Parliamentary Front in Defense of Tourism have already delivered a document to Chamber’s President Rodrigo Maia, defending the priority of legalizing the gaming sector - and not just casinos - as fundamental to unlocking investments, supporting the growth of our economy and generate jobs.
Rodrigo Maia expects an agreement between the house leaders and the parliamentarians who defend the proposal to take it to the plenary vote. It should also be noted that President Jair Bolsonaro's support for legalization is very important and is fundamental to the progress of the proposal and its approval in Congress.
This is an important step for the regulation of a sector that, according to studies by IJL (Brazilian Institute of Legal Gaming), can raise about R$ 20 billion (US$ 4.8bn) per year in taxes, generate more than 200,000 new jobs, formalize 450,000 jobs and develop regions related to tourism. But while we are discussing agreements and awaiting their vote, we must not forget that Bill 442/91, which is pending in the House, may not be the best way to regulate casinos.
It would be important for the PL to have a broader scope to go beyond authorizing the opening of casinos and legalizing jogo do bicho, bingo, BR1 machines, sports betting and online gaming. The possibility of small casinos that are not integrated with resorts should be discussed. This proposal is fundamental because it would allow the development of different destinations, generate occupation in the peripheral hotels and avoid the concentration of this activity only in large enterprises with subsidized rates by the collection with gaming.
Many studies and projections have already been done showing several positive aspects - increase in revenue, job creation and income - that the legalization of gaming could bring to the country. What we have been arguing is that from the authorization of the operation of the casinos, the tourist trade can be valued, with the creation of several new destinations in the country in a planned and strategic way.
In this sense, we believe that the awareness of all society about the benefits that legalization can bring to the country is fundamental. After decades of prohibition - since 1946, casinos are considered illegal in the country - we are faced with an opportunity to advance the issue, leaving behind old thinking that leads the country to lose tax revenue, which may, for example, finance tourism, education, health and public safety in Brazil, as well as taking informality out of an activity that employs thousands of people.
There are other aspects that need to be analyzed and which are emblematic: in the G20, besides Brazil, only Indonesia and Saudi Arabia did not legalize this sector, but for religious reasons. Thus, it is easy to see that we are in the opposite direction of most countries: gambling is legalized in about 75% of UN members and 71% of World Tourism Organization countries, and missing out on excellent opportunities to develop not just tourism, but throughout its production chain and several other sectors that would be impacted by its activities.
Examples of the benefits that gaming would bring are diverse, with some destinations, for example, basing their main sources of revenue around it. Las Vegas, Punta del Este, Macau, Aruba, Viña del Mar and Monaco are some examples of cities that receive huge amounts of tourists looking for fun and entertainment in their casinos.
Brazil cannot miss this chance. We need to move forward, reach consensus and put this issue on the agenda. The regularization of gaming also in small casinos will certainly be another factor of economic promotion, formalizing the activity and creating new markets and other attractions that will certainly increase the numbers of the Brazilian tourism and, consequently, the numbers of the national economy, leading to more development to various regions of the country in small and large cities.
Manoel Cardoso Linhares
President of ABIH Nacional - Brazilian Hotel Industry Association
