Tourism bets on casinos to grow in Brazil’s Bahia

In Salvador, casino roulette still exists, installed in one of the floors of the old Palace Hotel, in Chile Street, nowadays the newly opened Fera Palace Hotel. But in the cities of Cipó, in Itaparica, in Todos os Santos Bay, the Caldas de Cipó and Grande Hotel de Itaparica had in their facilities not only casinos, but all kinds of games that are attractions in large tourist centers such as Argentina, Uruguay, the United States and Europe.

Still awaiting a definition of the Senate, that approved in the Special Committee on National Development at the end of last year, the return of so-called games of chance, the secretary said during launch of the 25th BNTM (Brazil National Tourism Mart) at the Hotel Fiesta, that in the state the casinos can be installed in Salvador, Porto Seguro, Chapada Diamantina and in Costa do Sauípe, in the North Coast. According to the secretary José Alves, the preconditions for the installation of casinos are the proximity to medium and large airports and urban and hotel infrastructure. "And these cities in Bahia have it all," he explained.

The return of the casinos, and with them other types of gambling that have been banned in the country in 1946 by the then president Eurico Gaspar Dutra, is seen as a viable alternative to leverage the tourism in all the country. And this wargument was mentioned by the state secretary Of Tourism of Bahia, José Alves, who said not only that he supports the idea, but also that the State has the conditions to house this activities.

The BNTM, which runs from October 8 to 10, in Salvador, brings together hoteliers, travel agents, tour operators, airlines and journalists from Brazil and from 10 countries, including the United States, England, France and Germany, will seek to boost tourism activity throughout the Northeast Region. The expectation is to move US$ 260 million. There will be 150 agents and tourism operators, who will be performing more than four thousand business plans, and will know the tourist potential of the Northeast in the 75 stands of the fair.

"Gambling" has been banned from Brazil since 1946

Of the so-called "games of chance" in Brazil, the only one that still remains, but working in illegality, is the popular "Jogo do Bicho”. The other games, such as poker, baccarat and roulette, that used to generate a lot of cash to casinos and gave rise to large and famous hotels, such as the Copacabana Palace in Rio de Janeiro, or even the Palace Hotel in Salvador, are still prohibited by law.

The prohibition of gambling in Brazil was established by Decree Law No. 9 215 of April 30, 1946, signed by President Eurico Gaspar Dutra on the grounds that the activity was degrading to the human being and was against morality and good manners. With the end of the casinos, big hotels, where they used to be placed, went bankrupt or closed, like Caldas do Cipó and Grande Hotel de Itaparica, and the Palace Hotel in Salvador.

Come back

The prospects for the return of casinos are encouraging tourism entrepreneurs awaiting a Senate decision on passage of Senate Bill 186/2104, approved by the commission late last year.

Authorized by Senator Ciro Nogueira (PP-PI), the project defines the types of games to be explored, the criteria for authorization, the requirements for the members and the rules for the distribution of prizes and the collection of taxes. Casinos, bingo, jogo do bicho and online betting may be legalized. A conservative projection, according to the rapporteur, estimates the collection of US$ 8.8 billion in taxes for the government in the next three years. According to the text, the operation of the games of chance will be exclusively for the Union, through the Caixa Econômica Federal.

Source: GMB / Tribuna da Bahia