Prejudice against gaming is “backward”
In his first days in office, Brazilian Minister of Tourism Vinicius Lummertz said he favors a limited number of legal casinos in the country, possibly to be located “at specialty resorts.”
Recently appointed by President Michel Temer, the businessman and former head previously head of the Brazilian Tourism Board said casinos could help the country boost foreign tourism and increase investment.
“Brazil already has gaming,” he said. “Portugal, for example, has its casinos and everything is quiet. Portuguese GDP grew 4 percent last year, but if it did not have tourism, it would have fallen -1 percent. In Brazil, there is ideological confrontation, prejudice, typical of a backward country.”
Games Magazine Brasil reports that, though gambling and casinos have been banned in Brazil since 1946, the legal lottery and illegal online gaming annually generate R$ 34.1 billion (US$9.95 billion). The Brazilian Legal Gaming Institute says that Brazil has the potential to move up to R$66 billion (US$19.25 billion) with additional legal gaming, which could raise about R$30 billion (US$8.75 billion) in taxes per year.
“The state does not win with the ban,” said Jose Magno, president of the Legal Gaming Institute. “The country moves almost US$5.85 billion in illegal gaming a year without disturbing in any way the functioning of the state and society. Seventy-one percent of the WTO countries have gaming allowed. It is time to overcome prejudice.” Magno said an invigorated gaming market could add almost 700,000 direct and indirect jobs.
“Gaming is not just the slot machines,” said business leader Guilherme Paulus, who is also a member of the tourism board. “It’s mostly entertainment, income, shows—like Hard Rock that brings wonderful things to aggregate beyond betting. It’s not opening a casino in every corner, but doing a good job.”
