JUE 28 DE MARZO DE 2024 - 13:45hs.
Pedro Cortés, Senior Partner at Rato, Ling, Lei e Cortés Advogados

"In Brazil there is room for all the demands of gaming"

Pedro Cortés, gaming specialist and Senior Partner at Rato, Ling, Lei e Cortés Advogados, a prestigious office in Macau and Portugal, defended the regulation of all types of gaming in the first GMB webinar of the “Agora Brasil” cycle. 'Brazil is a continent and should be seen with this greatness... in this sense, we must move forward on the topic and not limit ourselves to IR's,' said Cortés.

According to the lawyer, whose company has been operating in Macau for more than 30 years in legal aspects related to the gambling market, the development of tourism is the end result of gaming regulation and the authorities must see the activity as an additional tool to leverage the economy.

“In Brazil it is possible to have small casinos in some regions and large IR’s in others, as well as different possibilities of gaming, not restricting the activity to the casinos, working on appropriate licenses for each sector. Tourism will benefit and the local communities, too. There is room for all the demands of gaming,” said Cortés.

According to the expert lawyer, Macau has been closed to tourists for almost three months, due to the global pandemic of COVID-19, and this has impacted the local economy, although IRs have reserves and financial capacity to withstand this crisis for about a year. “Macau has some characteristics that identify it with Las Vegas. But there is a primary difference. Las Vegas has many things besides gambling, while in the special region of China the predominant activity is the operation of casinos.”

Also working in Portugal, Cortés commented that in that country there is a coexistence between urban casinos, lotteries and online gambling and all of this generates tax collection. “That is why I understand that this experience can be applied to Brazil. The country should not just stick to integrated resorts, urban casinos or bingo halls. It is time to think about the gaming as a whole, creating regulations and licenses specific to each modality. With this, Brazil will attract not only global tourists, but also promote domestic tourism. All of this will leverage the economy as a whole,” he analyzed.

Cortes recalled that the same thing happens in the United States, where gaming is wide, with large resorts integrated with local casinos, horse racing, tribal casinos, lotteries, online gambling and sports betting.

The Portuguese expert said that Brazil is the most wonderful country he has ever visited and hopes to see the regulation of the activity as a great opportunity for the resumption of the economy. "Risks and opportunities go together, and at the moment the risk of the pandemic and its effects on the economy must be seen as an opportunity to bring gaming to legality."

In his assessment, "Brazil has been moving properly, but it needs to speed up and finalize the discussions so that all the benefits expected from the implementation of gaming activities in the country collaborate in the generation of jobs and taxes and, consequently, in the resumption of the economy."

Source: Exclusive Games Magazine Brasil