The scenario of economic crisis aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic rekindled in the National Congress the debate on a controversial topic, the legalization of gambling in the country, with the construction of casinos in resort hotels, and the release of gambling in general. With an eye on that, Fernandópolis has already applied to host the first legal casino (of this new phase) in the region.
The formal interest came from businessman Luis Carlos Rodrigues, an investor responsible for finishing the old Água Viva Thermas Clube, with the goal of transforming it into a Resort. He has been following the negotiations in Congress closely and is optimistic, while seeking to mobilize the region's authorities for the purpose.
"We are very interested in having a casino at Água Viva, we have space for that and if we do not have all the money for the installation, we will seek partners. It will be very important for the region, especially in terms of job generation. As far as I know, the release of the gambling sector in Brazil will be by region. We need our leadership so that our region is contemplated. I see it all with good eyes and I affirm that our club is a candidate to host a casino," he said in an interview to Cidadão newspaper, from Fernandópolis.
Born in Goias, Cesar Baiochi was the founder of Água Viva. At the inauguration, on May 22, 1983, after cutting the inaugural ribbon, he urged to talk about what would come in the future, said, privately to his friends present: “My dream is to build a hotel, with 300 apartments and a casino.” A casino? Yes, he said, exuding optimism: "Today it is prohibited, but Brazil will still have the return of games of chance."
For many years, Cesar Baiochi fueled the desire to implement his project, based on the support of his countryman, the senator from Goiás, Ozires Teixeira. Struggle was not lacking, but resistance from the church and conservative entities undermined the proposal. Tired of waiting for the congressmen's initiative, Baiochi sold the club and returned to his homeland, where the family still has an aquatic club in Caldas Novas.
The return of different gambling sectors has been discussed for almost three decades in Congress, considering Bill 442/1991, one of the oldest proposals in progress in the Chamber of Deputies and which initially intended to legalize the jogo do bicho. During that time, there was never a consensus on the advantages and disadvantages of legalization.
The main argument of the favorable parliamentarians is the revenue to be generated from the payment of taxes on the legal gambling, which would strengthen public coffers at a time of scarcity of resources.
In addition, in a recent edition, Veja magazine brought an article dealing with the socio-economic impact that the legalization and operation of gambling could produce in Brazil: 200,000 jobs and the expectation of collecting R$ 18 billion in new taxes, which would be divided between states and municipalities
A bill to legalize casinos is due to be voted on in the National Congress, which has strong sponsors, among them Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, son of President Jair Bolsonaro. This is the initiative of Senator Irajá Abreu (PSD-TO).
“The expectation is to collect R$ 18 billion in new taxes, which would be divided between states and municipalities, in free resources for investments. Other than that, we expect to raise R$ 5 billion with the concessions, which would be invested in popular housing,” said the senator.
The proposal is also endorsed by the Minister of Economy, Paulo Guedes, by the Minister of Regional Development, Rogério Marinho, and by the President of the Senate, Davi Alcolumbre (DEM-AP), which makes it one of the favorites to vote until the end of the year.
The newspaper ‘A Cidade’ asked the federal deputies of the region, Fausto Pinato (PP), Geninho Zuliani (DEM) and Luiz Carlos Motta (PL) about their positions regarding the project, but none of them spoke up.
Source: Jornal A Cidade de Votuporanga
