JUE 28 DE MARZO DE 2024 - 16:03hs.
President Bolsonaro would be in favor of casinos

The high stakes in legalizing the gambling sector in Brazil

After seven decades of prohibition, the gambling lobby is gaining momentum, driven by the possibility of the return of the casinos. The Minister of Economy, Paulo Guedes, has already expressed to people close to him that he is in favor of reopening these establishments in resorts. On the other hand, a direct advisor to President Jair Bosonaro said that he now has a favorable view of the regularization of casinos, according to the special report of Epoca magazine.

“The casinos will not work anymore,” printed the headline of the newspaper O Globo on May 2, 1946, a Thursday. Almost 74 years have passed, and after many spins on the wheel of fortune, the doors of casinos have never been closer to being reopened in the country, wide open by a movement led by gambling entrepreneurs, parliamentarians and members of the executive leadership.

The Economy Minister Paulo Guedes has already told people close to him that he is in favor of reopening casinos in resorts; the head of the economic team has said that, currently, Brazil has all the conditions to house this developments, opening the doors to attract luxury tourism. The position is also publicly defended by the President of the Chamber, Rodrigo Maia (DEM-RJ), and has the support of the Minister of Tourism, Marcelo Álvaro Antônio, and the President of Embratur, Gilson Machado – a name rising in the Bolsonaro clan and who launched an ambitious plan to leverage tourism in the country.

The pressure also reached President Jair Bolsonaro. In 2018, the then candidate even said that casinos would serve to "money laundering" and "destroy families in Brazil". After taking office, he tried to distance himself from the issue, balancing himself so as not to contradict evangelicals, an essential basis for his political support, and entrepreneurs interested in opening casinos in Brazil. On the 1st of this month, Bolsonaro was asked by a parliamentarian, through WhatsApp, about his opinion on the topic.

An article published on the website O Antagonista that raised the possibility that the president would take over the proposal was forwarded to him. To the congressman, Bolsonaro said he was against the project and that he could not stay "all day" denying the press. Despite the denial, a direct advisor to the president said he now has a favorable view of regularizing casinos.

Mistrust over Bolsonaro's position gained strength after Senator Flávio Bolsonaro (no party-RJ) visited Las Vegas and Miami last month. Flávio met with representatives of the sector, such as the founder of the Las Vegas Sands group, Sheldon Adelson, who has already publicly expressed his interest in opening integrated casinos to resorts in Brazil. Deputies from the evangelical bench even try to pressure the Baptist Church, of which Flávio is faithful, to frame the senator.

In addition to Flávio, the omnipresent Gilson Machado, from Embratur, senator Irajá Abreu (PSD-TO) and federal deputy Hélio Lopes (PSL-RJ), as well as MMA fighter Vitor Belfort, Brazil's tourism ambassador, also joined the Brazilian entourage in Las Vegas and Miami.

“What a joy to be able to know that in our diplomatic corps there are such incredible, competent and open-minded people. It is a great pleasure to discuss the future of Brazil with our consul general in Miami, ambassador João Mendes Pereira. We are working together for a new Brazil!”, posted Belfort on his Instagram profile, on January 21st. The evaluation of the group that traveled is that, if the country is able to mount a “conservative” project, and that closes the doors to money laundering, one of the main criticisms of the legalization of games, public opinion can embrace the idea. It is easier in speech than in practice.

Adelson, the main host during the American tour, is an old acquaintance of the Brazilian political world. Owner of casinos in the United States, Singapore and Macau, the businessman visited Brazil in 2018 - the gambling industry had great expectations that the government of Michel Temer would resolve the matter once and for all. The expertise of the group led by the billionaire is the construction of mega-complexes, bringing together a casino, hotel, restaurant and convention center. The presence is so intense that a project in progress in the Chamber is called by the detractors, ironically, “Sheldon Adelson Law.”

"It is a meaningless speech (the accusation of benefiting the American businessman)," said Deputy Paulo Azi (DEM-BA), author of the text. “We don't want any entrepreneur to separate the area he wants. The government will define where the casinos will be located, assessing the infrastructure issues,” argued the parliamentarian. He said he was in favor of other modalities, such as the ‘jogo do bicho’, but he believes that the casino proposal has a better chance of creating the necessary "understanding" in Congress for approval.

The point raised by the deputy gives an idea of ​​the various aspects of the discussion. In addition to the legalization of casinos, embraced by the establishment, the discussion on the regularization of gambling includes the ‘jogo do bicho’, slot machines and the lotteries, which are already operated by the State. In Congress, where the stakes are high, the alternative has already been designed even thinking about possible presidential vetoes: the modalities of games were divided by chapters and can be excluded without interfering in the essence of the proposal.

The clash in Congress has been going on at least since August 2016, when the Special Regulatory Framework for Gaming approved a report that supports the legalization of casino, ‘jogo do bicho’ and bingo activities in the country. The text is still in the drawer. In addition to outright opposition from evangelicals, there are also divisions among supporters of the activity. Rodrigo Maia, in favor of casinos, has already called the general freedman a “shot in the foot” and recalled the intimate relationship between slot machines and militias in Rio de Janeiro.

One of the articulators of the pro-legalization movement and an influential name in Congress, Senator Ciro Nogueira (PP-PI), has indicated behind the scenes that he is not opposed if the government and Congress choose only to release casinos. One wing does not admit, however, that the proposal does not pass in full. For example, he mentions the lobby of the commanders of the ‘jogo do bicho’ and of slot machines. This group of parliamentarians says that, by privileging gambling in luxury developments, the Legislature would remain with its eyes closed for the expansion of crime, through clandestine activities, in the poorest regions.

Part of the discussion has always been based on the reality that gambling is, in practice, released in the country, and has an intimate connection with organized crime and money laundering. Just look at the opulence of the samba schools on the avenue this weekend, most of them financed by jogo do bicho’s money - it is the time of year when offenders are treated like serious figures, as if the crime were suspended during Carnival.

Bringing out unofficial estimates, advocates of legalization point out that ‘jogo do bicho’ alone “employs” more than 400,000 operators and workers. “Jogo do bicho, samba and cachaça (local drink) are the only typical Brazilian creations,” exaggerated deputy Bacelar (Pode-BA), president of the parliamentary front that deals with the theme and defender of the unrestricted endorsement for the players. "The country is playing underground, and millions of reais are leaving daily," he added, referring to the possibility of tax collection. In that same unofficial math, around R$ 20 billion (US$ 4.55b) a year could be collected in taxes by the government.

Another line that is legalized in practice is that of online sports betting. Although the legal framework was established in late 2018, the regulation never got off the ground. At a meeting in Brazil, representatives of bet365, one of the main companies in the area, estimated a turnover of up to R$ 8 billion (US$ 1.8b) per year in the country - which brings the potential of the Brazilian market, in theory, to around R$ 16 billion (US$ 3.65b), since the company only operates in countries where it manages to dominate at least half of the market.

Most do not even realize it, but in practice these bets are not regularized in Brazil. The sites are all hosted abroad - Malta is the most sought-after country, but there are also operations based in Liechtenstein, Gibraltar and England, some of the destinations with attractive taxation for betting companies. The amounts, sent by international or prepaid credit card, are added to the expenses of millions of gamblers worldwide. Unofficial accounting points out that Brazilians currently spend between R$ 4 billion (US$ 910m) to R$ 6 billion (US$ 1.35b) on websites abroad. The betting sites sponsored 12 Serie A clubs from the Brazilian Championship last year and were responsible for 30% of the contract negotiated by the CBF for advertising the tournament.

In addition to the argument that gambling would boost revenue, there is real damage caused by betting on at least two fronts: public health, with the dramas of addicts who are unable to have only a playful relationship with the activity; and the fight against corruption, because of the facility for laundering crime money.

Starting with the latter problem, those who fight corruption have always pointed out the many paths to deviation. Prosecutor Deltan Dallagnol, from Lava Jato, exemplified: the contraventors could benefit, for example, by buying the prizes of other gamblers with illicit money, paying goodwill - when withdrawing the money from the bookmaker's cashier, the resource would be legalized.

Attorney José Augusto Vagos recalled, in an article, that the experience of legalizing bingo, between the 1990s and the early 2000s, showed that criminals who were already exploiting illegal gambling started to dominate the activity, using figureheads in front of companies. At this point, advocates of legalization restricted to casinos claim that control would be more effective. “I don't want to enter into the discussion about the other model (of unrestricted legalization). Experience shows that the standard of casinos in resorts is the most successful in the world,” said deputy Herculano Passos (MDB-SP), citing the example of Singapore.

The social side effects are one of the main arguments of the evangelical bench, which acts almost as a block against the legalization of gamling. But there is a surprise. The pro-legalization debate won the unlikely reinforcement of Rio Mayor Marcelo Crivella. In the balance between remaining close to a position dear to evangelical politicians and the need to attract investments to the city and reinforcing the cash flow of Rio, Crivella took the second option. The Mayor has a direct line with billionaire Adelson and tries to convince him to build a project in the Port Zone of Rio - market sources point out that the businessman still prefers Barra da Tijuca. Recently, Crivella argued that the authorization to bet on casinos should be restricted to foreigners.

No model under discussion is capable of pleasing the coordinator of the Evangelical Front in Congress, deputy Silas Câmara (Republicanos-AM). “Crivella's concept is wrong. It will start like this (releasing for foreigners) and then it will go away. The argument of good economic results is also wrong, because there is a series of expenses due to addiction, corruption and violence,” pointed out the parliamentarian, who quotes a study by economist Earl Grinols, for whom every dollar raised in Las Vegas with gambling results in US$ 3 spent on the social consequences of the activity.

Source: Revista Época - Thais Arbex, Marco Grillo e Bruno Góes