"There is this discussion in the Senate about casinos. I want to leave my personal opinion, which I already gave back when I was a candidate for president. I am totally in favor. Las Vegas, in the United States, started with casinos. And today people go there and have entertainment, shows, music, creative economy. I give my full support to the sector that distributes income and employs many people," said Vice President Geraldo Alckmin.
The Minister of Tourism, Celso Sabino, participated in the opening alongside the vice president of the Republic. He has reiterated his support for the legalization of casinos in Brazil and stated that numerous international conglomerates have sought out the country in search of information to prepare for the new phase of the implementation of the activity, which is viewed favorably by the government's main interlocutors.
At the event, the National Tourism Plan (PNT) 2024-2027 was launched at the 8th edition of the “Tourism Fair: Get to Know Brazil” in Rio de Janeiro. The document outlined goals for the sector, such as increasing domestic trips from 93 million to 150 million, the milestone of 8.1 million international tourists visiting Brazil and the expectation of US$8.1 billion in revenue generated by foreigners.
There is also a forecast of increasing the number of formal jobs in national tourism to 3 million.
Bill 2,234/2022, mentioned by Geraldo Alckmin, originated in the Chamber of Deputies and legalizes casinos, bingo and jogo do bicho in Brazil, but with limitations. In the case of casinos, only one establishment per state and in the Federal District will be allowed, with the exception of São Paulo, which may have up to three, and Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, Amazonas and Pará, which may have up to two each, due to the size of their population or territory.
Also according to the project, each municipality may authorize the operation of a bingo hall, but the largest cities may have one for every 150,000 inhabitants. The operation of the animal game may be carried out in each state and in the Federal District by one company for every group of 700,000 inhabitants.
The proposal also establishes that bets on horse races will be coordinated by horse racing entities accredited by the Ministry of Agriculture.
The project also foresees the creation of the Gaming and Betting Inspection Fee (Tafija), and the Contribution for Intervention in the Economic Domain levied on the sale of gaming and betting (Cide-Jogos), which will be shared with the states, municipalities, Embratur, and also earmarked for actions in the area of sports, culture and even to combat gambling addiction, known as gambling addiction.
Source: GMB / Empresa Brasil de Comunicação
