The public hearing this Thursday (9) at the Senate's Constitution and Justice Committee once again showed society the benefits of legalizing gambling in Brazil. With consistent information, including that from Alex Pariente, VP of casinos at Hard Rock International, the Ministry of Tourism, and representatives from the resort and hotel sector, overshadowed distorted positions by opponents of the activity.
The public hearing was proposed by Senator Irajá, rapporteur of Bill 2.234/2022, to address the legalization of casinos, bingo, animal game betting, and horse racing.
Bill 2.234/2022 authorizes the installation of casinos in tourist hubs or in integrated leisure complexes, such as high-standard hotels with at least 100 rooms, restaurants, bars, and venues for meetings and cultural events.
In addition to some opponents to the approval of the bill, the hearing included Alex Pariente, VP of casino and hotel operations at Hard Rock International, Guilherme Luís Dias, specialist in supervision and regulation, Thiago Borges, VP of the Brazilian Association of Resorts, and Manoel Cardoso Linhares, president of the Brazilian Association of the Hotel Industry, among others.
The usual allegations about the risks of increased gambling addiction, association with crime, money laundering, currency evasion, and financing of terrorism, among other evils that could arise from the legalization of gambling, were countered by consistent information pointed out by several of the guests present at the public hearing.
Legal gambling combats scourges
All supporters of the activity defended the legalization of gambling as the main tool to combat such alleged scourges. Generally, the summary of this position was clear in the statement of Guilherme Luís Dias, international specialist in supervision and regulation, who stated:
“The gambling activity is important in all countries where it is well regulated and brings immeasurable benefits, both social and economic. By legalizing and regulating, the government has enough technology to combat potential crimes and bring investments to Brazil”.
Tiago Borges, VP of the Brazilian Association of Resorts, highlighted that Brazil has a great opportunity to contribute to the development of tourism in Brazil, “but it should allow current resort operators to participate in this process and not limit the installation of casinos in large integrated resorts to be installed in the country. It is important to allow current operators to also participate in future bids for the installation of casinos in the states”.
National resort operators want opportunity
In the same vein, Manoel Cardoso Linhares, president of the Brazilian Association of the Hotel Industry, defended the freedom for current hotel entrepreneurs to install casinos, in order to contribute to regional development where they operate.
The most consistent statements came from Alex Pariente, VP of casino and hotel operations at Hard Rock International.
For him, the casino is an entertainment activity and accepted in most of the world. “There are few places where some form of gambling is not authorized. And the success of the industry, as an economic activity, is undeniable”, he stated.
“All sectors of the gaming industry should be legalized in a way to attract foreign investments and even local operators interested in investing in the country”, defended Alex Pariente.
He reminded that “gambling already exists, it just needs to be legalized, as it does not guarantee revenue collection for the government. Legalizing ensures control, creation of formal jobs, and attraction of foreign investments”.
Ministry of Tourism
Representing the Minister of Tourism, Carlos Henrique Sobral spoke, who presented an overview of the sector in Brazil and the challenge that the country has to surpass the mark of 6 million foreign tourists per year.
“Our expectation, with the integrated resorts, is to increase the number of jobs by 20%. In terms of investments, we could go from R$ 5.6 billion to R$ 66 billion, while revenues would jump 15%, reaching R$ 74 billion”.
According to him, the installation of integrated resorts in Brazil will be preceded by studies and research in terms of social and economic viability to define the locations that will receive such enterprises.
Sobral highlighted that 71% of the countries that are part of the World Tourism Organization have legalized gambling. And of those that have not legalized the activity, 75% of them are Islamic. “In the G20, 93% of the nations have legalized gambling. Only Brazil, Saudi Arabia, and Indonesia do not authorize it, with the latter two being Islamic”.
He concluded: “In the UN, 75% have legalized gambling, with Brazil being among the 14% non-Islamic that have not legalized the activity. And in South America, only Brazil and Bolivia have not legalized gambling”.
Source: GMB
