The proposal passed last Wednesday (June 20) with a narrow margin in the Federal Senate's Constitution and Justice Committee (CCJ): 14 votes to 12. The expectation now is that the matter will be brought to the House of Laws Plenary in the second half of this year.
Even before the text was approved this week, 56 foreign companies in the sector recently visited Brazil to explore locations and regions for potential operations, according to Fhoresp. The project, which has been under discussion since 1991, was already accepted in the House of Representatives in 2022. The matter also includes the exploitation of the jogo do bicho and betting on horse races.
The bill's passage in the CCJ is considered a significant development for the Federation of Hotels, Bars, and Restaurants, as it shows that the Senate supports the proposal despite the narrow result:
"The vote indicates that the Senate is in favor of bringing new investments to Brazil, which has everything to become a competitive destination in the gaming sector, generating jobs and income, including for bars and the hotel and gastronomy sectors," celebrates Edson Pinto, executive director of Fhoresp.
The entity's Director of Hospitality and Gaming, Bruno Omori, highlights that R$ 382 billion (US$ 71bn) will be injected within a year, starting from the bill's sanction.
"In addition, 12% of the tax revenue will be reinvested in Tourism," evaluates Omori, president of the Institute for Development, Tourism, Culture, Sports, and Environment (IDT-CEMA).
Types of casinos
Omori also explains that Brazil will have three types of gaming establishments after the proposal is sanctioned. The first will be the integrated resort casino, modeled after those in Las Vegas (USA), Singapore, and Macau. Each will have 4,000 slot machines and 600 gaming tables, as well as offering tourists 1,000 rooms for accommodation.
"In proportion, the state of São Paulo could have up to three casinos in this format, as it has over 40 million inhabitants. Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais will have two units each, as they have over 20 million residents. In the other states, there will be one establishment of this kind each," calculates the Fhoresp's Director of Hospitality and Gaming.
Next is the smaller tourist casino, similar to those in Punta del Este (Uruguay) and Monaco. An establishment of this model operates with 60 to 100 tables and has 400 to 1,000 machines, as detailed by Omori: "In this case, the location will need to maintain a distance of 100 kilometers from an integrated resort casino," he clarifies.
Finally, bingo halls will be able to operate legally in cities with a population of 150,000 or more.
Source: GMB
