Chamber could vote this year
Many gaming operators clamoring to be first to market in Japan are also looking at Brazil as a jurisdiction ripe with possibility. The Las Vegas Sands Corp., MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment all are reportedly looking at legislation that could legalize casino gaming there.
Last week was the first meeting of the Parliamentary Front for the Regulatory Framework of Gaming in Brazil. Its goal is to “defend the legalization and regulation of gambling,” according to the group’s leader, Deputy César Halum.
In recent years, the cash-strapped South American nation has struggled to pass gaming legislation both in the Senate and in the Chamber of Deputies. According to CalvinAyre.com, the Parliamentary Front was founded in September when Halum obtained the signatures about half the chamber’s 513 members. Halum says he expects a vote on the chamber bill to take place before the end of November.
For gaming operators and investors, there’s lots to like about Brazil. It’s the largest country in South America, with a population of more than 208 million. Revenue forecasts for land-based market have ranged as high as $20 billion per year, which could mean as much as $6 billion in taxes for the government.
Earlier this year, Caesars executive Jan Jones Blackhurst acknowledged that Brazil could be a “significant market.” In May, Sheldon Adelson, chairman and CEO of the Sands Corp., met with President Michel Temer and other high-ranking Brazilian government officials; Rio De Janeiro Mayor Marcelo Crivella then told the O Globo newspaper Adelson may be prepared to invest up to $8 billion in a Brazilian integrated resort.
“If you look at comparable numbers for gaming in that region, it’s clearly a market you need to pay attention to,” said Rob Goldstein, Sands president and COO. “Adelson decided to have a look for himself and he was impressed with what he saw.”
MGM Chairman and CEO Jim Murren also reportedly visited Brazil this summer to have a look. Just as in Japan, the operators are waiting to see if the government puts out the welcome mat in Brazil. “The final outcome will depend on what that legislation looks like,” Blackhurst told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “Is it at a tax level that allows you to invest the capital they expect? Are the regulations going to be of a standard that will allow United States companies with highly privileged and regulated licenses to be able to comfortably participate?”
Goldstein added that the process is “in the early innings” and that the industry is “still far away from seeing legislation and the approval process.”
