Brazil’s years-long push to legalize different types of gambling is at serious risk of failure, after a separate legislative proposal has emerged in the country’s legislature somewhat surprisingly. Under the new proposal, only integrated resorts with casino floors could be legalized in Brazil.
The newly-surfaced idea is sponsored by the country’s Ministry of Tourism. The Ministry calls for the legalization of land-based casino gambling over any other gambling service. If the measure gains momentum in Brazil’s National Congress, this would mean that long-time efforts of Chamber of Deputies members to pass an omnibus gambling bill could have been in vain.
PLS 186/2014 was introduced in the Brazilian legislature nearly four year ago, and while it has made little progress since then, analysts and industry insiders believed that 2018 could be the year when the bill was finally voted on.
Under the Ministry of Tourism’s new proposal, up to ten casinos could be built in two Brazilian states – São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The gaming facilities would be part of larger resorts. While PLS 186/2014 allows for the legalization of different types of gambling, including casinos, bingo halls, online gaming and sports betting, and the locally popular lottery-like game jogo do bicho, the new proposal ignores all but brick-and-mortar casino gambling.
The Ministry of Tourism has justified its latest move by arguing that the integrated resort model is the only one that could prove profitable in Brazil.
Opposition from Deputy Bacelar
The new proposal quickly gained opposition from proponents of a larger gambling legalization push. On Wednesday, Chamber of Deputies member Joao Carlos Bacelar slammed the Ministry of Tourism in a speech to his colleagues from the lower chamber of the country’s legislature.
Deputy Bacelar pointed out that the legalization of land-based casinos would benefit only the two above-mentioned states. He went on to say that ten casinos in the country would only create 20,000 jobs, while the legalization of a wider variety of gaming, betting, bingo, and lottery services would generate more than 700,000 jobs for residents of different parts of Brazil.
It became known late last year that the President of the Chamber of Deputies, Rodrigo Maia, was among the supporters of a more restrictive approach to gambling in the country and the legalization of brick-and-mortar casinos only.
Casino News Daily reported last month that officials at casino giant Las Vegas Sands have recommended the integrated resorts model as the one most suitable for the country. The Las Vegas developer and operator of casino complexes in its hometown as well as in Macau and Singapore has been eying opportunities to enter Brazil’s gambling industry for several years now.
Here it is important to note that the company is led by businessman Sheldon Adelson, who has been among the staunchest opponents of the legalization of online gambling in the United States.
In January, the Las Vegas Sands Senior Vice President of Government Relations, Andy Abboud, met Brazil’s Chamber President to discuss the legalization and regulation of the country’s gambling market. Mr. Abboud told the Brazilian legislator that integrated resorts with a gaming floor as well as facilities that could host conventions and exhibitions would be the most successful and profitable business model for the country’s nascent gambling industry.
According to reports from local media, Mr. Abboud and Mr. Maia met on Wednesday to continue their discussion about Las Vegas Sands’ potential entry in Brazil’s gambling market.