Folha — Your name was mentioned in conversations with parliamentarians in favor of legalizing gambling. What is the size and influence of Zitro International today?
Johnny Ortiz - I haven't talked to politicians. Maybe [they know me] because of the company, even more because I'm Brazilian. But I have lived outside Brazil for many years. We are in over 40 countries. We recently entered the United States, where compliance is fundamental. In several countries I am well received because we generate many jobs.
What do you think of the proposal for integrated casinos approved by the House?
In general, the project is good because not just anyone can enter, it needs a minimum capital. I think it was quite reasonable for casino-resorts, because the requirements are not the same as in other countries. I, for example, have nothing to do with the jogo do bicho, but I am in favor of releasing everything. Jogo do bicho exists today, everyone plays it, politicians and police know where they are.
In the jogo do bicho alone, the day after approval, there will be more than 500,000 signed papers because the staff employs a lot of people. Casinos generate jobs, but much less than jogo do bicho and bingos.
The House proposal foresees that the profits will be divided in 60% for the casinos and 40% for the owners of the machines, like you. Are percentages in line with international practice?
It has everything in the world. Several countries do it by percentage, others do it by fixed amounts. The range is different and very wide. The exact percentage values I don't remember. We are in over 40 countries.
Critics of the proposal speak of money laundering. It's an absurd. Today, the Brazilian government is able to control your entire life. And the law is very well done: all machines need to be homologated by the controlling body and the government will have control of everything that happens in casinos, in bingos.
I challenge anyone who talks about laundering money to teach me how to launder money in a casino. We see it in old movies. I don't know how to launder money in casinos.
There is a very strong argument that people do not understand: it is very expensive to launder money in casinos. It is much easier to wash in a parking lot than in a casino.
There is a strong lobby of corporations that want exclusivity for casino-resorts, without widespread approval with jogo do bicho and bingo. Do these groups lose strength with the death of Sheldon Adelson [American businessman in the gaming sector, dead in 2021] and the economic crisis in the pandemic?
Adelson died, but the group continues. In Brazil there was talk of the "Sheldon Adelson Law" because he only wanted casinos and forbid any other type of gaming vertical. It goes against the interests of Brazil. Brazil could have broader legislation. He wanted the opposite, a niche market.
Are you thinking about returning to Brazil?
No doubt. If there's seriousness, I'll come back. If not, I won't be back. I have license in over 40 countries. I will not put everything at risk to return to Brazil if the legislation is not serious and forceful.
You said that you have not worked with parliamentarians, but we are aware of your proximity to Deputy Guilherme Mussi (PP-SP), rapporteur in 2016. Did you talk to him about the matter?
Have no doubt that I know him. I've known his father for over 30 years. I go to Brazil twice a year. When he was the rapporteur, I talked [about the legalization of gambling] for him to understand the gaming market.
How did Congress manage to disengage from the Las Vegas Sands lobby?
[Sheldon] Adelson's lobby is different, because he participates himself. He says he's going to make investments, but then he wants tax exemptions for so many years, permission to hire employees who are out of the country. He asks for a number of things in return that few governments can offer.
He thought that arriving in Brazil, a Tupiniquim country, he could do whatever he wanted by offering billions of dollars in the construction of the casino. That's why he wanted legislation that was small and not broad, as it is in Congress.
You were in Brazil in February, the weekend before the proposal was voted in the Chamber. It was the home of Guilherme Mussi's family, in Bahia. Was your visit related to the vote?
None. I was at a friend's house in Bahia, far from Brasília or São Paulo. Enjoying the weekend with my wife. She lives here, I don't. At a friend's house. I am Brazilian and I still have many friends in Brazil.
Your family's departure was turbulent. In addition to the ban on slot machines, there was an investigation by the Federal Police and the Bingos CPI on suspicion of money laundering. Do you have any explanation for the charges?
I didn't leave because of the investigation. I left because I slept a businessman and woke up a criminal. Overnight [the Lula government] banned gambling. More than 500,000 people lost their jobs at the time. Everything I said, [the press] deviated. It was all an invention. I hired a company to do a self-investigation and they came to the conclusion that it was all a press job. The competition that started creating things to put in the papers.
UNDERSTAND THE CASE:
Proposal:
WHO IS WHO
Johnny Ortiz
Sheldon Adelson
Guilherme Mussi
Irajá Abreu
Source: Folha
