The deputy's bill amends Law No. 11,771, of September 17, 2008 and Decree-Law No. 3,688, of October 3, 1941 to allow the framing of casino hotels as providers of tourist services and decrees:
Article 1º This Law amends Law No. 11,771, of September 17, 2008 and Decree-Law No. 3,688, of October 3, 1941 to allow the framing of casino hotels as providers of tourist services.
Art. 2° Art. 21 of Law No. 11,771, of September 17, 2008 is effective with the following wording:
“Art. 21...................................................................................................................
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VII – casino hotels authorized by a regulatory body designated by the Federal Executive Branch.
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Art. 32 ...................................................................................................................
Art. 32-A. Casino hotels are considered establishments designed to provide temporary accommodation services and which have as one of their activities the establishment or operation of games of chance, provided that they are duly authorized by a regulatory body designated by the Federal Executive Branch.” (NR)
Art. 3° Art. 50 of Decree Law No. 3,688, of October 3, 1941 - Law of Criminal Misdemeanors, becomes effective with the following wording:
"Art. 50. Establish or explore gambling in a public or publicly accessible place, upon payment of admission or without it, except in casino hotels authorized by a regulatory body designated by the Federal Executive Branch:
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§ 4º ........................................................................................................................
b) the hotel not authorized as a casino hotel by a regulatory agency designated by the Federal Executive Branch, or collective housing, whose guests and residents are provided with games of chance;
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d) the establishment destined to the exploitation of gambling, even if that destination is hidden, except for the caput.” (NR)
In its justification, the Bill in question aims to improve the General Tourism Law in order to include casino hotels among tourism service providers. At the same time, the deputy proposes to amend the Law on Criminal Misdemeanors to allow the exploitation of games of chance when performed in the mentioned casino hotels, that is, those authorized by the Federal Executive Branch.
It is well known that gambling activity in Brazil is widely practiced, although illegal. Thus, the best way out is not to ban it, but to regulate its application in specific places in order to avoid perverse results, boost tourism in the country and, still, supply public coffers from its contributions.
Thus, decriminalizing casino hotels and including them among tourism service providers are meritorious measures in times of economic crisis, mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in which we need to encourage tourist activity and find other means of collection for public coffers.
The exploitation of games of chance, when regulated, is of immense importance for the tourism sector, for the generation of jobs and for the collection of revenues, either by the enormous amount of money left by foreign tourists, or by the taxation of the activity by part of the Government.
In addition to the importance of legalizing casinos for tax collection, this activity is essential to leverage the Brazilian tourism sector, hence the importance of being included in the General Tourism Law. The exploitation of games of chance is one of the factors that most attracts travelers from all over the world and, in line with the other attractions of our country, we would find the ideal combination to achieve a strengthened and valued tourism sector in Brazil.
In addition, the absence of casinos here not only culminates in the non-attraction of foreign tourists, but also results in the loss of Brazilians who, knowing that they will not find this activity in domestic destinations, seek to explore it in other countries.
Much of the tourist revenue in some Latin American cities known for their casinos, such as Viña del Mar (Chile), Punta del Este (Uruguay) and the triple border of Foz do Iguaçu in Argentina and Paraguay, comes from Brazilian tourists. It is estimated, for example, that they represent 70% of the occupancy and 50% of the revenue of Conrad Punta del Este Resort & Casino, according to Brazil’s Legal Gaming Institute.
Still on other Latin American countries, for example Uruguay, which has a specific agency for the regulation of casinos, has a tax collection of around US$70 million per year. Even more impressive, we cite the case of Colombia, which three years after regulating the activity obtained a revenue of approximately US$ 8.9 million related only to the exploitation of games of chance.
Several Latin American countries followed the Colombian example and advanced in the legalization of casinos, such as Mexico, Peru and Argentina. Only Brazil got stuck in this discussion and, since 1991, all the projects presented on the theme are joined to Bill 442/91, which was approved by the Special Commission in 2016 and has been awaiting inclusion in the Agenda since then.
Leaving Latin America, we can mention the case of Macau, a former colony of Portugal as well as Brazil and the current administrative region of China. According to IMF data, its GDP grew 9.3% in 2017 and 7% in the first quarter of 2018, and casinos were the main responsible for this growth. With its legalization, the region's government raised US$ 18.62 billion in the first six months of 2018. In addition, the tertiary sector, which encompasses gambling, contributed 93.4% of the local GDP in 2016.
All this delay in relation to the regulation of gambling does nothing but harm our country, our economy and our tourism. While the debate remains stagnant, foreign investments that could be allocated in Brazil are targeting other countries, leaving us behind in this market that grows more each day. In addition, the number of tourists we are losing is exorbitant.
While Brazil registered 6,621,376 million tourists in 2019, Argentina received 320,452 thousand more in 2018 (a total of 6,941,828 million) and this number grows more daily, with an increase of 23.1% in the first quarter of 2019. Macau, for example, received in 2019 more than 39.4 million visitors, six times more than Brazil.
The legalization of casinos is defended by several authorities linked to the sector, such as the Minister of Tourism of the current government, Marcelo Álvaro Antônio, who said he is building a project on the viability of casinos within resorts:
“[...] In tourism, we need to invest in attraction, which will be fundamental for the resumption. And use resorts, which are large complexes, and (the casinos) could be integrated with the resorts. We do not advocate the legalization of all games of chance, bingo, slot machines. What we advocate are casinos integrated into the resorts, which occupy about 3% to 5% of the total space, help to subsidize the resort's rates. This is the idea."
His predecessor, the former Minister of Tourism and current noble colleague Federal Deputy, Marx Beltrão, had the same position, stating at the Latin American Investment Forum 2016 (Laif) seminar that the Ministry of Tourism welcomed the legalization of casinos, as they already exist in various places in the world.
Thus, it is evident that the legalization and regulation of casinos in Brazil, as long as they are duly authorized by a regulatory body, as well as their inclusion in the National Tourism Policy, are essential measures for the promotion of tourist activity in Brazil, and for the increase of foreign investments, attracting visitors from all over the world and also guaranteeing another source of funds for public coffers based on their taxation.
Source: GMB
