A bill that would allow each of Brazil’s 26 states to offer a concession for an integrated resort that would include a casino is moving forward through the National Congress.
The president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, appointed Senator Veneziano Vital do Rego to represent the bill, which was introduced a year ago.
The legislation is known as the Adelson Bill, after late Las Vegas Sands founder Sheldon Adelson, a big booster of casinos in Brazil who made several trips to Rio de Janeiro to scout locations. According to the bill, the casino would be allowed to occupy up to 10 percent of a resort property’s total size. Operators would be selected using a scoring system, weighted toward quality over taxes and fees.
Senator Angelo Coronel has said he opposes the bill because it only authorizes casinos in integrated resorts. “I am against the model defined in this project because it is too restrictive and does not include the different segments, which, in the final analysis, are already operating in Brazil without any benefit to society,” he said. “We are going to fight for the approval of all the modalities.”
Coronel would like to unify two bills into one and has obtained the support of Senator Irajá Abreu, sponsor of a bill that would not limit casinos to IRs. “He was willing for us to unify, leaving it to the Plenary to decide whether Brazil will have the legalization of gambling as a whole or just a part. I will defend that all segments are covered, as it will generate more revenue for the union.”
Coronel added that a casino will take a considerable time to begin generating income. “With the other modalities, which are already running, it will be much more effective and the money will enter the public coffers immediately,” he said.
Deputy João Carlos Bacelar, president of the Tourism Commission of the Chamber of Deputies, has requested a public hearing to discuss a regulatory framework for gaming. He commented, “Approval of the regulatory framework for gaming is a requirement of Brazilian society. There is no society in the world, developed, rich and civilized, in which gambling is prohibited. In Latin America, only Brazil and Cuba do not allow the activity. We need to face this issue and that is why we are requesting this public hearing.”
He added, “The biggest harm is in the area of security, as those who play illegally do not have any protection from the state and their protection as a consumer is guaranteed by law.”
