Asked about the agenda of the plenary session until voting for reform in June, Rodrigo Maia included the legalization of casinos: "There are debates, such as casinos linked to the hotel chain, to separate this from bingo and slot machines. In the resorts it is easier to control, generates employment, doubles the foreigners in Brazil and attracts US$5.3 billion in collection.”
Recently and in line with what Maia intends, a new project authored by Paulo Azi (DEM-BA), PL 530/19, which deals with the installation of casino resorts in Brazil, was joined to PL 442/91 by the board of the Chamber of Deputies. The parliamentarians decided to attach the proposal of Azi to the project that deals with the same subject and that is in the pipeline the longest in the House.
In a recent exclusive interview with GMB, Deputy Paulo Azi considered Maia as an important support. "President of the Chamber Rodrigo Maia is fully in favor of the project, and knows of its great importance mainly for Rio de Janeiro."
PL 442/91 is the basic project for the Regulatory Framework of Gaming, and its report by Deputy Guilherme Mussi (PP-SP) was approved by the Special Commission on the Regulatory Framework for Gaming in Brazil in August 2016 and, since then, waits to be voted in the House Plenary.
In 2018, Maia defended to vote the proposal with mechanisms of "strong regulation" to liberate casinos in Rio de Janeiro and in São Paulo. In his assessment, there will be no investor interest if the release of gambling is restricted to remote areas of the country. He affirmed that the regulation of casinos is important for Rio de Janeiro and for the country, since it could generate jobs and raise funds for the governments.
"We’ll talk (with the deputies), some politicians ask for bingos and machines outside the casinos. But we want to present (the project) the casino," explained Maia, which generated a bad feeling in most members of the Pro-Gaming Parliamentary Front who hoped that bill 442/91 that embraces the total legalization of all activity would be voted without amendments.
The re-election of Maia added to the public support that has already been expressed by the governor of Rio de Janeiro, Wilson Witzel, the mayor of the capital of Rio de Janeiro, Marcelo Crivella, the tourism minister, Marcelo Álvaro Antônio, and the governor of Minas Gerais, Romeu Zema Neto, is the initiative to approve casinos in resorts in Brazil seems to be the closest step that will give the government of Jair Bolsonaro in reference to legalization of gaming to generate economic resources for the country.
According to Maia, studies show that the implementation of casinos integrated with hotels can result in the creation of 250 to 300 thousand jobs in the country, in addition to resulting in a collection of up to US$ 5.3 billion for governments. He estimates that up to 32 casinos can be built in Brazil if the project reaches consensus and is approved.
Source: GMB / Valor Econômico
