GMB - What motivated you to make your monograph for the Master's in Tourism focused on the legalization of casinos and gambling in Brazil?
Igor Arnaldo - I have been following this theme since the time I was studying Tourism Management at CEFET. Over the years, I went deeper and deeper into the subject, motivating me to take the study further, then entering the Masters in Tourism at UFF, with Dr. Aguinaldo Fratucci as my advisor. What motivated me to do a study on this topic were two aspects; tourism obviously, and the possible economic result if legalization finally occurs.
You have historical data on developments that arose in Rio de Janeiro thanks to the emergence of casinos, and developments that had to close when casinos were banned. Which were these ventures and what did they have to do with the casino industry?
According to everything I have been following throughout this time, “the casino industry” is not just about gambling, contrary to what a good part of the population believes. In fact, this industry offers a wide range of entertainment and, due to its success, it ends up causing a cascade effect around it, at street, neighborhood and also city level, generating a greater demand, more movement, more business options.
An example worth mentioning would be the entrepreneur Francisco Serrador himself, who owned several casinos, theaters, hotels and cinemas throughout Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Minas Gerais. A good part of its establishments transformed the places into entertainment points, where it was possible to find dozens of theaters, nightclubs, bars and restaurants, thus being a reference for popular entertainment. I emphasize the cinemas that were in the region around Praça Floriano, which came to gain the popular name of Cinelândia, in Rio de Janeiro.
With all this, we have the appearance of several cinemas during this period of operation of the casinos, which were closed soon after the ban. A cascade effect and then a freefall of total decline. However, we must keep in mind that there was also the other side of the coin with the presence of casinos, such as prostitution, drugs and excess of foreign capital. All of this in the future will have to be considered and alternatives found to at least reduce the impact of these points.
Which casino-related bill do you believe will have the best financial performance for both the companies and the national tourism sector?
To list only one bill, in my opinion, is impossible; we start with regulatory framework 442/1991, only there are 23 other bill gathered. Within those 23, I see a full potential in the projects 3090/2015, 2903/2015 and 2826/2008. They emphasize the general context with the legalization of casinos, looking at the companies, cities, and tourism sides. And there is a PLS, which would be 186/2014, which also follows this whole context well-tied and elaborated with a view to exactly the financial performance for both the company and the national tourism sector.
With the pandemic and the current increasing devaluation of the real currency, do you believe that the legalization of casinos can boost the economy? What do you think is missing for that to happen?
Recently, on April 30, another year of decree-law 9215 (the ban on gambling in Brazil, signed by President Eurico Gaspar Dutra) was completed. We are already 74 years old with this decree.
However, there is perhaps a possibility that they will allow legalization to happen soon after this pandemic has finished, as it will be a way to boost the country's economy. Even with the increasing devaluation of the real, this may not be a problem for entrepreneurs to invest in our country because of the cascade effect. Open casinos, create jobs, generate income.
What is missing for that to happen? If we follow the debate that takes place within the sectors of power, we will have the opportunity to hear several justifications for being against, examples that range from sin and addiction to the association with money laundering and organized crime. Focus and common sense, because we have the knife and cheese in hand.
Many experts say that the legalization of gambling in Brazil is close. However, with cases of corona virus increasing in the country, the matter was left a little aside. When do you believe that the release of casinos will no longer just be a stage for discussion in Brasilia and will become a reality?
The last updates I received regarding all the bills that I follow were given on March 16th, when the coronavirus had already been with us for a long time. Having a specific date to believe that it will be released is difficult to say, but there are two situations that I think are very likely to be used for the legalization of casinos: the first would be right after this pandemic in which we live and create our new normality when everything goes back to how it was before. Take the chance and release the legalization of casinos, because we will have many unemployed people waiting for a job. The second would be perhaps one or two years after the post-pandemic normalization, so there will be time to adjust things and make surveys so that there is a way to improve the country's economy.
Much is said about releasing only casinos in integrated resorts. What is your position about this restriction? Do you believe it can be beneficial?
In the course of specialization in Business Logistics I realized that there was a teacher who always repeated his phrase: "It's good for whom?"
There are at least 3 bills (4062/2012; 530/2019; 2648/2019) that define the use of casinos only in resorts. Two issues must therefore be taken into account: first, the location of these resorts and whether the client must be a guest of the resort to enter this casino.
We will have new resorts to be created to have a casino, and existing resorts that might suit what is required within the project.
This is a very interesting question, as in some projects it is possible to find one of its justifications being the reduction of regional and social inequalities. Summarizing the rules for entering the resort's casino will end up channeling the target audience that will come to frequent this entertainment. So, will it be worth it? "Who is it good for?"
In the future, when casinos are a reality in the country, which cities do you believe will become tourist spots because of their gambling establishments? Do you think we will have a Brazilian Las Vegas or Macau?
This question is like a game of poker and you have in your hands the chips to be bet, because we have so far, in May 2020, countless bill and initiatives about this matter of legalizing gambling and casinos. Well, each one with its restrictions, whether on Indian lands, only in the Amazon, Municipalities that are part of the semiarid or the Desertification Nuclei, in Brazilian regions with a lower municipal human development index, or even a liberation throughout the national territory. Who knows if there will be new projects that will have other requirements. We are dealing, at the moment, with a box of surprises that will give us countless results depending on what is finally approved and defined. I would say that I bet that yes, these long 74 years will not last much longer; we have countless cities that can now have a new tourist spot on their map. And if there is an Eastern Las Vegas and a Western Las Vegas, it's time to have a new one with its Brazilian features.
Source: Exclusive GMB
