On December 16, the Chamber of Deputies urgently approved the legal framework for gamingng, which legalizes games of chance in the country, to be voted on by the House's plenary. Passos was one of the articulators of the proposal.
He is 65 years old, was mayor of Itu, in the interior of Sao Paulo, and is in his 2nd term as federal deputy. Today, in addition to gaming, he heads another agenda that divides opinions: the institution of the vaccine passport in Brazil. He was co-author of Bill 1158/21, which creates the document.
Back to gaming, Passos says that the only organized opposition to the project is from the evangelical bench. But he downplays his arguments. “I've already debated with evangelical leaders and I respect their opinion. But I don't understand why they are against it. They say it increases the addiction, but the person who is addicted gambles clandestinely,” he said in an interview with Poder360.
In addition to evangelicals, Passos knows that President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) is publicly against the proposal, but says he does not see any problems. “Bolsonaro will veto. First we're going to approve it in the Chamber, then in the Senate. If we approve, we will overturn the veto,” he said.
Excerpts from the interview:
Poder360: How important is it to legalize casinos in Brazil?
Herculano Passos: Brazil is the only country where the predominant religion is Christian and casinos are not legal. Today there is a huge debate in the Chamber and the evangelical bench has already taken a stand against it. It is an argument that says nothing. In the United States, evangelicals are the majority. And it's legalized. If legalized, it will bring the jobs we need, taxes for the federal, state and municipal governments and will encourage tourism. Behind the casinos come the integrated resorts. That's the model. It brings world conventions, people from all over the world who enjoy leisure, come with their families. And these places have musical and sporting events, concerts, in addition to generating local commerce opportunities. This brings wealth.
What model do you follow?
I spoke with the former mayor of Las Vegas. There, gaming represents 30% of the revenue. The rest is all movement with travel agencies, flights. The city receives 600 daily flights. Let’s consider another place that has an integrated resort: Macau. It's 6 times more gaming movement than Las Vegas. Everyone has Vegas as a reference. But Macau is an island colonized by the Portuguese in China. All games are there because it's banned in China. The Chinese play and have a lot of money. What turns over there is the game itself.
But do you also defend, in addition to the integrated resort, options such as bingo?
This legalization of games includes casinos, bingo and jogo do bicho. In the case of bingo, only in cities above 250,000 inhabitants. In the case of the jogo do bicho, it can be anywhere. And the casino is one per state in an integrated resort or for every 15 million inhabitants. Only four states have more: Bahia, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. The first three may have two casinos. Sao Paulo, which has more than 25 million, may have up to three. Casinos in tourist cities will double. In the case, for example, of a State that can have a casino in an integrated resort, it can have two more tourist attractions, which are smaller. The objective is to invest in tourist cities.
There were plans to build a large casino in Maresias, on the north coast of Sao Paulo. Is it in the plans?
In that region there is Guarujá, which already has 2 resorts, and a better structure. Casino requires a reasonable infrastructure. And it calls a lot of people. Look at the example of Singapore. It was forbidden. There, the country legalized and built a casino in an integrated resort. At the time, the country of 5 million inhabitants received 9 million tourists. The hotels were against it, they understood that it would reduce the price of daily rates. It was the opposite. Dozens of hotels opened because the big conventions occupied the hotels year-round. Everyone won. It went from 9 million to 21 million. Brazil has received 6 million tourists for many years. By legalizing the casino, I'm sure it will greatly increase the number of tourists.
Have you done calculations about job creation and increased tax collection with legalized gaming?
In these three modalities, jogo do bicho, bingo and casino, the expectation is 650,000 jobs.
How long would take to reach that number?
Quickly. In the joog do bicho, you give a concession and you already have people employed. They enter into formality and pay tax. In the case of casinos, there are clandestines who do not pay tax and people work informally. By legalizing, they will pay taxes. As for the collection, just with casinos, the expectation is R$ 20 billion (US$ 3.6bln) per year.
What is the calculation?
We think of casinos as 1% of GDP, which is R$7 trillion (US$ 1.25 trillion). The expectation is a turnover of R$ 70 to R$ 74 billion (US$ 12.5 to US$ 13.3 bln). The tax is around 30%, which would be around R$20 billion (US$ 3.6bln). And we've already shared the fate of that money. Half goes to the federal government to invest in Embratur, culture, health. Another 25% for the States and 25% for resources to municipalities across the country. Where the casino is, the city will receive huge advantages. It will generate jobs, have municipal taxes and all the movement of the economy.
Are there already cities interested in setting up casinos?
I know about the State of Sao Paulo. I believe there will be an integrated resort on the coast, one in the capital and one in the interior.
Who opposes the project?
It is the evangelical bench. I've debated with evangelical leaders and I respect their opinion. But I don't understand why they are against it. They say it increases the addiction, but the person who is addicted gambles clandestinely. Lottery is legal, so is horse racing. Not the jogo do bicho, but it's everywhere. Islamists do not accept gambling. We've been losing revenue for over 70 years. When I arrived at the Chamber, 7 years ago, I created the parliamentary tourism front and the casino agenda was mature before the pandemic. Then everything stopped. And now the president of the Chamber, Arthur Lira (PL-AL), has formed a working group with 10 deputies. I hope we vote and approve.
President Bolsonaro has already said he would veto...
He will veto. First we're going to approve it in the Chamber, then in the Senate. If we approve, we will overturn the veto.
Are you in favor of legalizing other games, such as TV betting, for example?
All online games are in our text: poker, football betting. Today people gamble and pay taxes in other countries. We lost currency.
Changing the topic a little, you co-authored the project that created the vaccine passport. Why do you defend the initiative?
At that moment when the pandemic was at its height, we presented this proposal. I understand that it was so that we could have more security and stop spreading the pandemic. And then there is the person who is already immunized. I am in favor of the vaccine, I understand that the vaccine has totally contributed to reducing the number of infections and deaths in Brazil. It's sharp. We have to save lives by following science.
Today, do you think it is still necessary to have a passport with almost 80% of the population with the 1st dose?
I think it is, because in many places I go, they ask for a vaccination card. It's a way to give more security. And I'm in favor of continuing with a mask, with cleaning, keeping my distance. The pandemic is not over.
The federal government is against these measures. Why?
The government has always been against it. The president did not get vaccinated. It's his point of view, which I disagree with. I understand that we have to vaccinate. I was deputy leader of the government before the pandemic and then we left deputy leadership. I have always disagreed with this point of view of being against the government's own vaccination. The government gets a lot right, but it gets a lot wrong. The vaccine is a prevention. It's much smarter to be safe than to have to heal later. It's much cheaper.
You said that Bolsonaro has hits and misses. Can you list a few?
The biggest mistake was this question of how he handled the pandemic. Another mistake is aggression, political warfare. It's a lot of confrontation. I think I could be a president who respected institutions more, without confrontation. He has many qualities. He is well intentioned and wants the best for Brazil. He put together a good team. Tarcisius, Marine. Of qualities, that's it.
In Sao Paulo, with whom should the MDB walk towards the government?
With the PSDB, with the deputy governor Rodrigo Garcia. It's already settled. We were the first party to take this position. I believe that we can contribute a lot. We understand that the government is doing well. It is delivering works and development for the interior, the capital and the coast. I've always traveled Brazil and I see the difference between the State of Sao Paulo and other States. Progress, development, organization, job creation, economic movement. Sao Paulo is the locomotive and is very well governed. We believe that this one is working and that it has to continue. There is a great possibility that the MDB will choose the vice, but it has a lot of water to roll.
Source: Poder360
