"Our company, like all of the companies actively looking at Brazil right now, is going through an exercise in process,” said Jan Jones Blackhurst, executive vice president of public policy and corporate responsibility for Caesars.
Blackhurst noted that no legislation or regulations have been established. "But you’re looking at what could be significant markets,” she said.
Blackhurst has made trips to the world’s fifth-largest country, which has a population of more than 200 million people. She believes there are three or four cities in Brazil that could potentially support casinos, either because of their potential as tourist destinations or because they’re home to the nation’s wealthiest residents.
She lists the most viable markets as Brasilia, Sao Paulo, Salvador da Bahia and Rio de Janeiro, the site of last year’s Summer Olympic Games. "Personally, I like Brasilia because it’s the capital and many affluent people live there. It’s very safe,” she said.
One of Caesars’ local competitors is also kicking the tires in Brazil. "We see what everybody else sees: It’s a large population base and a fascinating country,” said Rob Goldstein, president and chief operating officer of Las Vegas Sands, operators of two Las Vegas casinos and properties in Macau and Singapore.
"Rio and especially Sao Paulo with its large population are compelling,” Goldstein said. "If you look at comparable numbers for gaming in that region, it’s clearly a market you need to pay attention to.”
Brazil has so much potential that Sands Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson traveled there in May for a visit. "He decided to have a look for himself and he was impressed with what he saw,” Goldstein said.
Adelson met with Brazilian President Michel Temer and other high-ranking officials. Following the visit, Rio de Janeiro Mayor Marcelo Crivella told Brazil’s O Globo newspaper that he and Adelson discussed potential investments in the city of around US$ 8 billion.
Goldstein said establishing casinos in that country is still far in the future. "It’s a long process and we’re in the early innings,” he said. "We’re still far away from seeing legislation and the approval process.”
"The final outcome will depend on what that legislation looks like,” Blackhurst said. "Is it at a tax level that allows you to invest the capital they expect? Are the regulations going to be of a standard that will allow U.S. companies with highly privileged and regulated licenses to be able to comfortably participate?”
Two bills regarding casino gambling are under consideration by Brazilian lawmakers.
Blackhurst said she’s seen the reports of her competitors investing billions of dollars in Brazil, "but if you don’t know the tax rate and you don’t know the locations, you can say it, but (it may not be that amount).”
MGM Resorts International, which like Caesars and Sands is
in the hunt to develop casinos in Japan, has considered Brazil, with Chairman
and CEO Jim Murren paying a recent visit. A company spokesman said this week
that MGM "is interested in it and monitoring it.”
Source: GMB / Reviewjournal.com
