The
Winfil gaming house has already scheduled
time to start activities in the south zone of Porto Alegre:
5pm on Thursday (19). The establishment has become a controversial topic after informing openly that it will exploit slot machines. In addition, the house will have bar and restaurants.
The space is located in Avenida Eduardo Prado, 55, in the Cavalhada neighborhood. The Civil Police and the Public Prosecutor's Office have already protested against the opening. However,
Winfil's defense lawyer, Laerte Luis Gschwenter, argued that the company is not breaking any legislation. The lawyer confirmed that
the space will have
equipment, which according to him, are similar to slot machines.
"The venue will offer
bar,
restaurant and entertainment with games. Conceptually, this machinery is considered, in a wrong way, an electronic slot machine. And is not, technically and legally. They are similar, but with provenance, licit origin and tax issues contemplated, "he said.
Asked about the possibility of the authorities arriving at the site to inquire about the house, Gschwenter pondered that Civil Police and Public Prosecutor's Office are welcome for on-site inspections. "They are invited to exercise their powers of supervision. Criminal contravention, in
Rio
Grande do Sul, in a final decision, has ceased to be a crime. Now, our objective is to prove to the authorities that we are complying with 100% of the law, "said Laerte, who added he was sure there would be no seizure of the machines.
If it depends on the Civil Police, the verification of
legitimacy of the operations of
Winfil must even be done. The head of the Civil Police in
Rio Grande do Sul, delegate Emerson Wendt, says that the institution will fulfill its role.
"We are going to do what we have already done, and we are going to have to scrutinize, yes, by doing what we can to prevent it, but we have to prove that gambling exists," says Wendt, adding that yesterday (17), the Civil Police seized slot machines in the northern part of Porto Alegre during the so-called "Vegas operation”. According to Gschwenter,
Winfil should run on Thursday between 5 pm and midnight. However, there is no confirmation of opening hours on other days.
Provisional license does not provide for the exploitation of gambling
Documents submitted by
Winfil obtained through the Municipal Department of Economic Development (SMDE) inform that the establishment did not file a request to operate gaming machines. There is also a handwritten declaration by one of the partners of the establishment, Rogério Guarnieri, stating that it is not intended "to explore bets, games of chance or similar in the enterprise." About this,
Winfil merely said that the equipment is not configured as a game of chance. "In our conception, we do not understand it that way, that is why we call on the authorities, we will comply 100% legality," said the lawyer.
Fonte: GMB / GauchaZH
