Brazilian writer and journalist Antonio Carlos Garias Nunes, also the author of the popular In Zebrão’s blog, is calling for the country’s government to reopen the gambling sector.
Although Brazil has a long and colorful history of casinos, such as the glamorous Copacabana Palace in Rio, casinos were eventually closed by the government and replaced by government-run games of chance such as Jogo do Bicho, lotteries, Instantaneous, Mega, Quinas, Loteca and more. Nunes says these games bring in revenue, but don’t generate economic activity.
He wrote, “While congress and the government have been fighting for years about the tax reform, the legalization of casinos is causing huge financial losses to the country, in addition to a huge loss of revenue, besides not reducing unemployment, and not to mention the increase in tourism, a sector in which Brazil ranked seventh in the Americas and fifty-second in the world.”
Tourism is the sector that would benefit the most from opening up the country to gaming, says Nunes.
He concluded, “For all these reasons, we are in favor of legalizing the reopening of casinos throughout Brazil, mainly to generate jobs. Legalization would allow control and inspection of resources in circulation. Everyone would have to win.”
A return of the industry has been under discussion for years in Brazil, with global magnates like Sheldon Adelson pledging to invest as much as $10 billion in a casino resort in Rio de Janeiro.
