Legislation
Brazil – Brazilian Federal Deputy suggests casinos would kick start the post coronavirus economy
By Phil - 18 May 2020
Introducing laws to allow casino gaming in Brazil could be pushed to the front of the legislative queue with Brazilian Federal Deputy Pompeo de Mattos claiming casinos would help kick start the economy following the coronavirus pandemic.
Mr. de Mattos said: “Casinos would generate taxes, income for the government, and it would help us recover the economy. It would create jobs. It’s a perfectly possible, viable, and necessary alternative to rebuild the economy after the coronavirus crisis. In certain circumstances the casino would be ideal, for example for more touristy places, others may be more suited to bingo which is a different situation, or machines that are something else and the jogo do bicho, which is everywhere.”
“What I want is to regulate, legalise, collect taxes and make it work formally by improving the relationship between the gambler, the manager, the retailer, the taxpayer, give them whatever name you want, the entrepreneur, with the public sector paying taxes, generating jobs. To sum up, let’s formalise an activity that is as old as the history of the Republic itself, because before Brazil became a republic, the ‘jogo do bicho’ already existed.”
He believes that gaming tax should be invested into the health and education sector. “I have no doubts,” Mr. de Mattos added. “It fuels tourism. Tax contributions must be used for health and education.We are in need of money for the health sector now in the midst of the pandemic, and I have no doubt that later we will continue to need it.”
The Brazilian legislature has considered numerous bills to allow casinos with Mr. de Mattos believing adequate support now exists in the chamber.
A bill was introduced in March from Federal Deputy Alberto Neto who wants to initially establish casino resorts in Amazonas, using the region as a test bed for casinos.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and Economy Minister Paulo Guedes meanwhile have given the green light to create a decree for an Investment Partnerships Program to attract private investors, most likely casino and resort casino operators, to the national tourism sector.
This ‘will strongly propose’ the concept of introducing casino gaming to ‘attract multimillion-dollar investments and generate thousands of jobs in Brazil.’
The program will suggest collaborations to make new investment companies in Brazil with a focus on developing cultural and natural assets related to the tourism. One of the first things on the program is the legalisation of casinos and their effect on tourism.
The committee will include executives from the Special Secretariat of the Investment Association Program of the Ministry of Economy, the Civil House of the Presidency of the Republic, the Secretariat of Evaluation of Public Policies, Planning, Energy and Lotteries of the Ministry of Economy (SECAP-ME), the Tourism Structuring Committee of the Ministry of Tourism, the National Secretariat of Inter-institutional Integration of the Ministry of Tourism, the Ecotourism Secretariat of the Ministry of the Environment and the Government Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic.
Caption: Brazilian Federal Deputy Pompeo de Mattos
