"I believe we’ll have votes to approve gaming framework in both Houses"

GMB - What is your assessment of the creation of the Parliamentary Front for approval of Gaming Regulatory Framework?
Herculano Passos - The Parliamentary Front for the Adoption of the Regulatory Framework of Gaming in Brazil came to add, to reinforce and multiply the work that has already been done by the Joint Parliamentary Front in Defense of Tourism (which I preside), by the Tourism Commission of the Chamber and the Ministry of Tourism itself, with the aim of quickly approving the legalization of the activity.

What is the forecast for the Bill to be voted? Do you think you have enough votes to get approval?
Faced with the crisis and after a long time without movement, the president of the Senate announced, on November 7, that he will put PL 186/2014 on the agenda of the Plenary. And this scenario has already begun to be drawn, with the reading of the opinion of the rapporteur of the bill in the Committee on Constitution and Justice of the Senate last Wednesday (8); the vote in the collegiate went to the next meeting. Now, we have to wait to see if this will influence in any way the procedure of PL 442/2014, of the Chamber, since the Houses seem to want to walk together towards the legalization of gaming. I believe, yes, that we will have the necessary votes for the approval in both Houses of Laws.

Do you think the Senate bill 186/2014 should also be the focus of the Front's debates? Can the union of the two projects be a proposal to discuss by the Houses?
Both the Senate and House bills are on the agenda of the Gaming Front. If the bill of the Senate is approved before the one of the House, it will come here and they can be joined ( united), proceeding together. If the House is approved before, the bill goes to the Senate and it can also be processed there.

The main objective of the Parliamentary Front is to get PL 442/2014 to be voted and approved in the House. What other fronts with similar goals and results in other projects can serve as an example for the gaming industry and increase confidence in the success of the Parliamentary Front?
The Mixed Parliamentary Front of Agropecuaria, of which I am a member, is one of the strongest of the National Congress. It has great power of articulation and influence in voting, as well as in the choice of Ministers of State. The Parliamentary Front for Trade, Goods and Services, of which I am also a member, is another good example. It was thanks to the articulation of this Front that the Labor Reform was approved this year. The Tourism Front also had participation in the elaboration and approval of the Labor Reform, articulating so that Intermittent Work was included in it. Another Front that I preside over, the Joint Parliamentary Front in Defense of Brazilian Municipalities, created in May, has already achieved good results, with the inclusion and approval of important amendments in Provisional Measures, such as Refis and Municipal Debt Settlement; as well as the collection of the ISS on credit card operations, among others, which began to be made in the municipality of the service taker.

As president of the Tourism Front (FrenTur) which also supports the legalization of gaming, do you believe that the two fronts can work together to achieve common goals?
Absolutely. Since 2015, Frentur has been articulating the legalization of casinos. We have been able to mobilize all segments of the trade interested in this agenda, we have participated in many debates in this regard, both in Brazil and abroad, and we have met with representatives of countries interested in investing in this sector in our country. Now, we join the Parliamentary Front for the approval of the Gaming Regulatory Framework in Brazil to join efforts in this direction.

Do you think the debates that will be made during the work of the Parliamentary Front will bring the population closer to the gaming industry and make it support legalization? Which paths should be used for this?
I believe that they will positively influence public opinion, in the sense that this will bring more benefits than harm.

After the installation of the Parliamentary Front came rumor that there was an intention to legalize casinos separated from other types of gaming. In an interview with our website, a representative of the casinos sector said that the issue came from a proposal from the head of the tourism industry pointing out that the casinos have more tourist appeal and could enter a new tourism law. What can you comment on the subject?
There was a reflection in this sense, but the proposal was no longer discussed.