But this is not an easy discussion. At the end of last year, the proposal for legalization caused a crack between supporters of President Jair Bolsonaro and returned to be a topic to be considered in the Chamber. A bill with a report presented in 2016, authorizing the exploitation of games of chance throughout the national territory, is ready for voting in plenary.
Álvaro Antônio even mentioned the casinos, recognizing that the matter is controversial, at the ministerial meeting on April 22, made public after a decision by Minister Celso de Mello, of the Federal Supreme Court.
“The Ministry of Tourism now has to have a planning, an investment attraction plan, which is what generates jobs, income, and how it helps, obviously, to the economy of Brazil. And for that, President, I believe that the time is ripe, in this planning of the resumption, to discuss integrated resorts [to casinos],” said the minister to Bolsonaro and other colleagues from the Esplanada who were present at the meeting.
Economic potential of casinos
According to Álvaro Antônio, the installation of casinos in Brazil, within integrated resorts, which would also offer other types of services, has the potential to attract investments of US$ 40 billion “only from grants, from immediate investments with this agenda.”
The bill for the exploitation of gambling in Brazil that is ready for voting in the Chamber provides that casinos can only exist in integrated hotel establishments, as resorts, with multiple areas of hospitality, leisure and cultural spaces.
A maximum of three casinos can operate per state - even so in units of the federation that have more than 25 million inhabitants. In states with a population of less than 15 million, only one casino can operate. And where the number of inhabitants is 15 million to 25 million, two.
Last year, a parliamentary front was created in the Chamber that defends the regularization of gambling in Brazil. The front coordinator, Mr. Bacelar (Pode-BA), says there is no reason to ban the activity. "There is no developed country in the world, no country at all, developed and democratic, in which gambling is illegal," he said.
"If we release joog do bicho, casinos, electronic games, online games, slots and bingos, this sector can generate 600,000 jobs for the country and about R$ 15 billion (US$2.8b) annually in taxes," said Bacelar.
Evangelical bench is against
The government may find it difficult to move forward on this agenda. The evangelical group in Congress must oppose the theme, as has happened on other occasions. Congressman Marco Feliciano (Pode-SP) said he talked to President Jair Bolsonaro on Wednesday (27) about the topic.
“For a government that intends to be conservative in customs, it would be political schizophrenia to legalize gambling. That is why, today, I was in an audience with President Bolsonaro and he reaffirmed that he was against the legalization of gambling, and said that he will veto a proposal to that effect that is approved by Congress, thus reaffirming his commitment to the evangelical people,” said the deputy, who is a pastor.
Deputy Sóstenes Cavalcante (DEM-RJ), also from the evangelical bench, is another one that disapprove the legalization of casinos. "I am always against it," he said. “The moment is to take care, to save lives, because of the coronavirus; and not to kill them with this plague of gambling and / or casinos,” he added.
Feliciano also reinforced the weight of the evangelical base in the electorate of the president. “Evangelicals are not in the main on social media, but they are one of the strong bases of social support of the Bolsonaro government. And it is not virtual support. We are a third of the national electorate and a fifth of Congress. And, for us, the legalization of gambling is an issue that should not even be discussed,” he said.
Gambling bench considers mistake to release only casinos
At the ministerial meeting, Marcelo Álvaro Antônio highlighted the desire to release just casinos. “It is not a wide gambling legalization, it is not bingo, it is not a slot machine, it is not. I’m just talking about integrated resorts,” he reinforced. “Obviously, President, an agenda that needs to be built ... Damares is looking at me with a frown. An agenda that needs to be built with the benches of the Chamber, both evangelical and catholic, showing or demystifying several myths that revolve around this,” reinforced the minister.
At the meeting, Minister Damares Alves, of the Family, Women and Human Rights, reacted: “pact with the devil,” she said.
Coordinator of the gaming bench, Bacelar considers that Álvaro Antônio's logic is wrong. “I cannot fail to applaud the minister's intention to legalize a type of gambling in Brazil. But, unfortunately, the minister chose the wrong option. Casinos integrated with resorts demand high investments and are not great generators of jobs,” says Bacelar.
For him, the solution is to release all gaming modalities.
Centrão sees the idea with good eyes
The reaction of Minister Damares and the deputies of the evangelical bench heard by the report shows how the government may have difficulty in advancing the legalization of casinos.
At the end of last year, President Jair Bolsonaro was consulted to find out if the government would support a project with this content, but did not give a definitive answer. Bolsonaro told the interlocutors that, before, it would be necessary to consult the evangelical bench. The Mayor, Rodrigo Maia (DEM-RJ), is in favor of the legalization of casinos, but restricted to resorts.
“I am an advocate for the legalization of gaming. Not only of casinos, but I am also in favor of us including bingo,” defends deputy Paulinho da Força (SD-SP). “Casino is important. If we did it across the country, it would certainly give us a few thousand jobs. But I think that allowing both casinos and bingos could generate thousands of jobs,” he adds.
Paulinho da Força believes it is possible to advance the legalization of gaming in Brazil this year, starting in the second semester. For him, it is possible to build an understanding with the evangelical group on the theme. “I think this is the time to discuss. Brazil will need this. We are going to enter the biggest economic crisis in the history of Brazil. So, we need to think of projects now that generate jobs and revenue for the government. If it includes bingos and casinos, we are talking about R$ 20 billion (US$3.75b) in revenue for the government,” he says.
Arguments for and against casinos
In January of this year, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro (Republicans-RJ), the president's son, traveled to Las Vegas for a meeting with casino owners in the United States.
The main argument in favor of allowing for the installation of casinos in Brazil is the economic and tourist potential. Those in favor of releasing the activity mention success stories elsewhere and recall that Brazil is one of the few countries of its size to not allow legal gaming. It is also often emphasized that Brazil's neighbors, such as Uruguay and Argentina, maintain casinos, which contributes to the movement of the economy and the generation of jobs.
At the ministerial meeting on April 22, the Minister of Tourism strongly defended the proposal. “It has to be a very well-done project, which I believe can be, and in the process of resumption, a great opportunity for Brazil to attract large complexes of which only three percent are used for casinos. And another [reason]: this has no direct impact on the family of Brazilian workers,” argued Álvaro Antônio.
Opponents of the idea report that gambling addiction is a recurring problem and can impact the lives of many families. Another element cited is that the gaming "industry" is usually related to money laundering and drug trafficking, and the regularization of casinos could boost these crimes.
At the April 22 meeting, the Minister of Tourism asked for help to "demystify" the issue. “What needs to be done, President, is really to demystify the issue of currency evasion, money laundering, drug trafficking. And, for that, I would suggest that in this debate we could count on the Ministry of Justice, through the Federal Police, the Public Ministry on the table, the Federal Revenue, the control bodies,” said Marcelo Álvaro Antônio.
During the election campaign, Bolsonaro said he was against legalization. “Am I going to legalize casinos in Brazil? Can you believe a lie like that? We know that the casino here in Brazil, if it had one, would be a big laundry, it would be used to launder money. And also to destroy families. Many people would give themselves up to gaming, and chaos would be present among the families,” he said.
Source: Kelli Kadanus, Gazeta do Povo
