A bill that would legalize many kinds of gaming in Brazil is before Congress. If the legislation passes, at least nine cities in the state of Mina Gerais could open or reopen gaming halls.
In anticipation of the bill’s passage, the Palace Hotel in Caxambu plans to invest R$50 million (US$13.5 million) in renovations, and the Grande Hotel de Araxá is already looking for possible partners.
Newton Cardoso Júnior, president of the Tourism Committee, has submitted a formal request to House leader Rodrigo Maia asking that the proposal be voted on by September. Bill 442/1991 combines about 20 proposals for regulation of games already in Congress.
“We made an agreement with Rodrigo Maia to focus on this theme, which we consider to be fundamental for the development of tourism in Brazil, since it will increase the number of visitors, the generation of jobs and consequently, the economy of the country,” Cardoso Júnior stated. “Minas Gerais will be the most benefited state,” he added, because the bill gives preference to cities with hydro-mineral resorts that have hosted casinos in the past may have gaming houses.
José Perez Gonzalez, owner of the Palace Hotel of Caxambu, says he will invest R$50 million (US$13.5 million) to overhaul the property, which once hosted a casino. “We have an occupancy rate of 25 percent today,” he told Games Magazine Brasil. “I think it can reach 80 percent with the casino.”
The owner of the Hotel Brasil in São Lourenço, Marco Aurélio Lage, also says he expects gaming to more than double his occupancy rate from the current 40 percent to 90 percent. “My grandfather João Lage inaugurated the hotel in 1917. The casinos were officially opened in Brazil in 1920. At the time, all hotels were crowded, many tourists came from outside. With the ban, we have lost space for other countries in Latin America,” he said.
Daniel Checker Ribeiro, president of the group that owns the Tauá Grande Hotel and Termas de Araxá, said, “We have a lot of interest in reopening a casino there, and I think in a couple of years we have been able to approve the project. We think of partnering with some outsiders to make the investment viable.”
The return of gaming in Minas Gerais cities could bring in annual tax revenues of up to of R$2 billion (US$530 million) and create 18,000 direct jobs, according to IBJL President Magno José Santos de Souza.
“Games can still take a lot of development to the cities where they will be located. Just to get an idea, I estimate that the municipalities will distribute a cake of R$100 million (US$27 million) a year in taxes. In times of crisis, that makes a lot of difference,” he said.
According to Souza, only Brazil, Ecuador and Cuba ban casinos throughout South America, and “there is no plausible argument for this prohibition. … because the games never cease to exist with the prohibition.”
Games included in the measure include casino games, jogo de bingo, federal and state lottery games, fixed-odds betting and electronic betting.
States with a population of up to 15 million inhabitants will be eligible to have one casino. Those with a population of 15 million to 25 million, such as Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, can have two. Those with more than 25 million inhabitants can host three. Only São Paulo has this population.
