Brazil: Legal Casinos Required

Implementation plan already in progress

Just a few weeks after Brazil manifested its betting reform, another sensational development is on the horizon. The national tourism ministry has called for the timely legalization of the land-based gambling sector. In particular, the introduction of large casino resorts and bingo halls is seen as having both lucrative and sustainable economic opportunities. The tourism sector, which has been hit by the Corona crisis, could also be saved through legalization.

According to the Brazilian magazine GazetaEsportiva, the incumbent Tourism Minister Marcelo Álvaro Antônio has already started working on an implementation plan. This will be submitted to the National Congress and President Jair Bolsonaro for ratification in the foreseeable future. It has recently become more and more open to gamblingigt, proof of this is the revision of the sports betting law.

The Tourism Minister explained that due to the pandemic, people have stopped traveling and visiting the country's tourist facilities. It is therefore important to invest again in local tourism. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the equivalent of 154 million euros has been invested in the sector, but this is not enough to avert the economic disaster.

According to Álvaro Antônio, the construction of casino resorts offers a perfect solution. Tourists would go to hotels to gamble and bet. Instead of continuing to wait out the virus, the plan should be implemented quickly. However, strict security standards must be adhered to within the casinos. He added that life goes on and one must learn to live with the virus until a medical solution to the problem is found.

MP plans evaluation

With his demand, the Minister of Tourism aligns himself with Congressman Jonga Bacelar, who currently wants to carry out an evaluation on the legalization of casinos and gambling in Brazil. The politician's goal is to legalize casinos, bingo halls and other forms of gambling in order to overcome the current crisis. The country is already planning to take action against Corona with sports betting, which makes it likely that the plans will be implemented.

According to Bacelar, legalizing gaming venues offers many advantages. This alone could generate the equivalent of over 3 billion euros in additional taxes. The politician also explained that regulation is necessary to curb illegal gambling activities. The state must ensure that money laundering and terrorism are combated effectively.

An unregulated black market also creates social dangers such as violence and gambling addiction. In return, effective regulation would create legitimate sources of employment and finance. In addition, there would be many indirect jobs and international cooperation that a legal gambling market would open up.

Bacelar has already set its sights on a test region. A large flow of tourists would travel to the state of Bahia, which would be a good opportunity to test new regulations. In addition, the measure would be a great addition to the Bemslots online casino, which has already gone live here. Whether it's for Implementation comes remains to be seen for now.

Gambling against the crisis

The proposals are part of the current Brazilian betting reform. Brazil has been discussing its sports betting law since November 2019, and the plan is to privatize the billion-dollar sector. After a total of three consultations convened by Brazil's Economics Ministry for Evaluation, Planning, Energy and Lottery (SECAP), President Bolsonaro signed the corresponding decree at the beginning of September.

Sports betting has now been formally included in the portfolio of the Investment Partnership Program (PPI). This is a national privatization program designed by the Brazilian National Council to free the country from the economic crisis caused by Covid-19. The program is part of a 7 billion euro rescue package and envisages the initiation of several concession and privatization processes.

Among other things, everyone should be licensed Sports betting casinos ensure growing income. There will also be privatization of airports. In addition, new tourist facilities and national parks are to be developed, as well as new exploratory projects for natural reserves such as oil, gas and minerals. The plans for this have existed since 2016, but Corona has given the agenda an unprecedented level of flexibility.

State sports lottery will be abolished

When introducing sports betting, the focus is on the privatization of the previously state-run sports lottery. Previously, bets were only allowed to be offered by CAIXA, a Brazilian bank that also acts as a state financial services provider and manages most of the country's lotteries. CAIXA is also active as a football sponsor. The company has more than 32 million customer accounts.

This monopoly is now being abolished in favor of the economy. Privatization goes hand in hand with the licensing of international betting companies. The new decree transfers control over the licensing process and the selection of providers to the state bank BNDES (Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social) and the Ministry of Economic Affairs. The development of an application process will begin at the beginning of next year.