Brazilian National Congress has broadly discussed a bill that promises to bring more than R$ 50 billion (US$ 12.75bn) in investments and generate more than 300 thousand jobs in Brazil. Currently, more than 13 million Brazilians are unemployed. This is the regulation of integrated resorts with casinos, in a conversation led by the Ministry of Tourism. While the legislature discusses the best ways to clear bets in Brazil, large groups - both national and international - are lobbying for the swift approval of the bill, raising the flag of job creation by casinos. In addition to the promise of creating 300 thousand new jobs, it is expected to raise R$ 20 billion (US$ 5.10bn) a year with taxes.
Since 1946 casinos have been banned in Brazil. But at the moment, the country seems to be moving against global best practices. Of the group of 20 richest countries in the world, 93% of them have legalized gaming. It is speculated that at the time of prohibition, the main motives were linked to religious conservatism. Today, of all the countries that ban gambling, only Brazil, Cuba and Iceland are not Islamic.
American example inspires
There are other concerns regarding the legalization of casinos in Brazil, such as addiction and money laundering. That is why the Brazilian Congress maintains caution in the negotiations. On the other hand, examples of countries with rigid legislation and with significant results in the field of employment are not lacking. The main one is the United States.
In its latest report, the American Gaming Association stated that the industry employs 1.7 million people in the country. With industry and gaming culture consolidated there, there is still a projection for the generation of about 62 thousand new positions over the next decade. The report also states that job creation by casinos benefits more than 200 types of careers. Therefore, it is not only the tourism industry to be benefited by this.
Another positive point is that, at least in the United States, the gaming industry is more egalitarian than most sectors of the economy. Few industries employ as diverse a workforce as gambling. Forty-five percent of the workforce in the industry is comprised of minorities. Almost half, 48%, are women. Both data are higher than the national average.
The United States has about 1,000 casinos in 40 of the Union's 50 states. It is estimated that unemployment in places with casinos is up to 8% lower than in the ones where there is no gambling.
In Portugal the legalization of casinos also had a positive impact recently. In 2017 the country's GDP grew 4%. Were if not for the results obtained by the tourism sector, pulled by the casinos, the annual GDP would be -1%. Only in the integrated resorts of the Estoril Sol network, 11 casinos are responsible for 18,000 jobs, spread throughout Portugal.
Government also wants to raise more
Not only the population of cities where it is allowed to install the integrated resorts to casinos that will benefit from regulation. Despite the postponement of the vote in plenary, the Brazilian government itself sees in the new legislation a chance to raise more. If in the United States the already consolidated betting industry yields US$ 38 billion to the government coffers, in Brazil it is expected to raise at least R$ 18 billion (US$ 4.6bn) a year in taxes.
The legislation discussed at the congress still provides for the regulation of sports betting sites, which can also generate income for public coffers. Many of the largest betting sites in the world currently operate in Brazil through content and support in Portuguese, but companies and their servers stay in countries with legislation that allows for practice, which generates taxes for these respective governments.
According to the lawyer and professor of the Getúlio Vargas Foundation (FGV), Pedro Trengrouse, "there is no regulation or monitoring of more than 400 international sites open for online betting of citizens of Brazil." In a country that still does not have a betting culture built in casinos, it can take time for games like baccarat and black jack to attracts the taste of Brazilians. On the other hand, due to the great national passion for sports, especially for football, these sites see sports betting a great niche for Brazil. It is believed that, if the country is made up of “200 million coaches”, predicting results and also receiving money for that would seem much more attractive.
Source: GMB / Terra Brasil
