JUE 28 DE MARZO DE 2024 - 10:01hs.
Project does not include bingo and jogo do bicho

Government proposal to release casinos divides operators and pro-gambling politicians

Sectors linked to the defense of the legalization of gambling in Brazil are critical to the proposal presented by the Minister of Tourism, Marcelo Álvaro Antônio, at the ministerial meeting on April 22 and which became public on Friday (May 22) after the decision of the Federal Supreme Court (STF). Debate taken by the portfolio head to the ministerial meeting on April 22 excludes legalization of modalities such as bingo and jogo do bicho.

The assessment, even in the parliamentary front of the Congress that acts by regulating the activity, is that the idea being developed by the federal government serves the interests of businessmen in the United States casino industry.

In one of the moments of the meeting when there was no mention of "intervention", Álvaro Antônio told President Jair Bolsonaro that, within Brazil's economic recovery plan, an important alternative would be the permission to build "integrated resorts" in the country, with casinos as part of this venues.

“It is not legalization of gambling, it is not bingo, it is not a slot machines. They are integrated resorts. (...) We have the possibility of attracting at least US$ 40 billion to Brazil just from grants, from immediate investments with this agenda. (...) A great opportunity for Brazil to attract big complexes of which only 3% are used for casinos,” said Álvaro Antônio, who emphasized the need to tailor the proposal with the evangelical bench, one of the main support bases for Bolsonaro, and that is against the release of the gambling.

The Minister of Women, Family and Human Rights, Damares Alves, is an evangelical and was the first to react to the proposal of the Minister of Tourism. "Pact with the devil," said Damares, who also cited the use of gambling companies in possible criminal money laundering activities.

Despite Damares, Álvaro Antônio's demonstration found an echo in the government nucleus. Walter Braga Netto, head of the Civil House and coordinator of that meeting, when he presented the Pro-Brasil plan, signaled to the colleague from Tourism a specific meeting to discuss the agenda. And the Minister of Economy, Paulo Guedes, also showed sympathy to the discussion of the liberation of casinos in Brazil.

“Hey, Damares. Leave everyone to decide. The president speaks of freedom. Let each one party the way they want. Especially if the guy is adult, vaccinated and billionaire. Let the guy party, damn it! No unprotected Brazilian enters there (casino),” shot Guedes. Bolsonaro did not take the floor in this section of the meeting, and Vice President Hamilton Mourão joked that they would take "Damares to play roulette."

In contact with the report, the press office of the Ministry of Tourism said that the idea is still "embryonic" and that the intention is really to dissociate the project from modalities such as bingo, slot machines and jogo do bicho, activities that currently handle billionaires numbers clandestinely, having large audiences.

“Why should I leave joog do bicho, which is genuinely Brazilian, on the gray side of society? Either we legalize everything, or nothing. I can't have a cute casino in São Paulo or Barra da Tijuca and, at the door, have a boy selling the jogo do bicho , on the corner a slot machine and on the other side of the street an electronic gambling house. Why favor the lobby of an American group, Las Vegas Sands, which only wants to settle in Brazil if it is alone?”, asks federal deputy Bacelar (Pode-BA), president of the Mixed Parliamentary Front for the Approval of the Regulatory Framework of Gaming.

The Las Vegas Sands, mentioned by the congressman, is controlled by American billionaire Sheldon Adelson. Bacelar says that the eventual legalization of bingos and jogo do bicho will generate the creation and formalization of 600 thousand jobs in the country, with annual tax collection of around R$ 15 billion (US$2.75b), considering all the modalities that can be regulated.

Magno José Santos de Sousa, president of Instituto Jogo Legal, says that today there is no open dialogue between the sector already active in Brazil and the federal government. “The government makes dubious movements. Bolsonaro has already made public denials, saying that his government does not discuss casinos. But in January this year, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro was in Las Vegas and met with representatives from the Las Vegas Sands. What they intend to do is legalize half a dozen casinos, basically in São Paulo, Rio and Brasília. We advocate that all market demand be legalized. Today Brazil moves R$ 20 billion (US$3.65b) a year in bets and unregulated gambling,” says Sousa, pointing out that the average Brazilian, the one who likes and has the economic conditions to venture only in jogo do bicho or bingo, would continue to circulate in hiding.

REPERCUSSION IN RS

In Rio Grande do Sul, mayors of cities that are identified as possible casino destinations have expressed expectations, but there is still a lack of information and clarity. A fundamental assumption would be to define, if the federal proposal moves forward, whether the release of casinos would take place throughout the national territory or exclusively in tourist, coastal, thermal water and border regions.

“I would say that there is an environment of expectation. What we have today are rumors of interest. We receive sporadic visits from businessmen, all from outside the state, and they say they represent international groups from the United States and Europe with an interest in establishing themselves in this field (casinos). I always answer that it is necessary to wait for the profile of this new activity to be outlined,” says Fedoca Bertolucci, mayor of Gramado.

In Santana do Livramento, that borders Uruguayan Rivera, where there is a casino, Mayor Mari Machado understands that the city would be able to apply for its potential in shopping tourism. If the proposal goes ahead, it intends to open a dialogue with the hotel sector of the municipality. “We already have a resort-like development here (Amsterdam's thermal water park),” says the mayor.

SITUATION AT THE CONGRESS

In the Chamber of Deputies, Bill 442/91, which provides for the broad legalization of gambling in Brazil, from jogo do bicho to the slot machines, bingo, online betting and casinos, is eligible for voting in plenary. In August 2016, the text was approved by a special commission. Since then, it waits to be guided for voting in plenary, where changes can be made in its content, including to approve only casinos, according to the intention of the Ministry of Tourism.

According to the Chamber's proposal, taking into account the population criterion, a maximum of three casinos would be allowed in São Paulo, two in Rio and in Minas Gerais, and one in the other states. They would have to be installed, necessarily, in hotel complexes such as resorts.

“We did a survey at the beginning of the year that showed 52% of federal deputies in favor of the total release of the gambling activity. We were close to voting on the 442/91 project in 2017, but then this lobby came to exclusively authorize casinos, and ended up generating division,” says Bacelar.

Source: Zero Hora