“Paying a historic debt”
Will Brazil’s long-awaited casino industry start with tribal gaming halls? That’s the plan proposed by federal deputy and parliamentarian Dagoberto Nogueira, who says the U.S. model of Indian casinos could “pay a historic debt to Indian communities that have lasted for more than 500 years.”
According to Games Magazine Brasil, Nogueira, a member of the Parliamentary Front of Agriculture, is a longtime proponent of legal gaming in Brazil and has been pushing the tribal proposal since November 2017.
Nogueira says casinos will “finally provide our Indians with a life worthy of prosperity without the need to destroy their culture or their environment.” He points to the expansive tribal gaming industry in the United States, which has created global juggernauts of some tribes including the Mohegans and Mashantucket Pequots of Massachusetts and the Seminoles of Florida. But opponents of tribal gaming say it leads to corruption and gambling addiction.
On the sports betting front in Brazil, Marcos Oliveira of Clever Advertising Group says affiliates “will be a huge part” of the growth of the sector in Brazil, according to CDC Gaming Reports. Oliveira’s comments followed the Brazilian Senate’s voted in favor of Bill MP 846, which could give the green light to regulated sports betting.
“The opening of the Brazil market is something that everyone has been anticipating,” Oliveira said. “For affiliates, Brazil will be the market for 2019 with such a huge country divided by states. We will see national and state online operators investing a lot in marketing, and affiliates will be a huge part of this growth.”
Marc Frank Pedersen, director of business development at Better Collective, agreed, saying, “Brazil is a very interesting market based on a variety of factors, such as its population size, their embedded love for sport in their culture and their movement into the digital space. As regulation and compliance is a priority for us, we are keeping a close eye on how Brazilian legislation develops in order to inform our strategy there.”
However, CDC reported, with online operator gross revenue limited to 8 percent, it may leave little room for affiliates.
MP 846 now requires only the president’s signature to become law.
