“ Building an integrated resort that could be a destination for tourists from the region and internationally could be very useful to pursue the government goal, which is to increase tourism.
— Alex Pariente, Corporate Senior Vice President of Casino and Hotel Operations, Hard Rock International
So I think the online regulation also will help politicians understand that the government has the powerful tools to control everything.”
The truth is, even without regulation, land-based gambling is happening in Brazil with jogo do bicho, a game of chance with a name that translates to“ animal game,” hugely popular despite being banned in federal law since 1946.
“ Jogo do bicho is over 100 years old, so it would be very hypocritical to say that this is something that just erupted in the last decade or something like that,” Pariente continues.“ It’ s always better to regulate the industry than to just know the industry exists.
“ There are no protections to the population because we don’ t know who’ s gambling, we have no control over currency movements or AML. We don’ t even know who the customers are, but we know there’ s an activity over there that is happening, and the government cannot get a grip on it.”
BOOSTING TOURISM
Beyond the enhanced player protection that regulation provides, land-based gambling could serve as a major boost for Brazil’ s tourism industry.
Pariente notes“ stagnation” in tourism in Brazil, which receives around 6 million tourists a year. In comparison, the Dominican Republic regularly breaks the 10 million barrier, despite its land mass fitting into Brazil approximately 175 times.
Even with the heavy investment stemming from major sporting events in Brazil over the past 11 years, including the soccer World Cup in 2014 and
Jogo do bicho is an illegal gambling game in Brazil, prohibited by federal law since 1946, but nevertheless very popular throughout the country. The players make their bets choosing different animals. It is a lottery-type drawing, run by illegal operators known as bicheiros, banqueiros(" bankers "), or contraventores. the Olympic Games in 2016, Pariente maintains the country is struggling to“ even move the needle” in regards to foreign visitation.
Pariente says Hard Rock could help to move that tourism needle in Brazil, where it already has a number of cafes, as well as create jobs to further foster economic growth in the country.
“ We are very keen on presenting an integrated resort as a bigger impact on the economy, because of the magnitude of the investment,” Pariente says.
“ Building an integrated resort that could be a destination for tourists from the region and internationally could be very useful to pursue the government goal, which is to increase tourism. By the same token, with the job creation related to the sizeable investment of an integrated resort, you’ re talking in the billions of dollars.”
Celia agrees land-based legalization would provide Brazil’ s economy, and particularly its tourism sector, with a welcome boost.“ There are huge opportunities,” Celia says.“ Brazil has many places like Rio de Janeiro, the rainforest up north, the beautiful beaches on the northeast of Brazil, they all can be improved with gaming.
“ It’ s a big economy thing, and Brazil right now needs that. So I personally believe that it’ s going to be a high-level discussion on tourism as well.”
THE ONLINE EFFECT
Will the discourse about online gaming boost land-based hopes? The second half of 2024 for Brazil’ s soon-to-be regulated online sector was plagued by pressure from the public and politicians.
Such was the furor, a Supreme Federal Court hearing was held in November to determine whether the online betting laws were unconstitutional.
That decision is expected in the first half of this year, though few in the industry feel there’ s a realistic chance of regulation being scrapped.
Brazil is somewhat of an outlier in regulating online betting before its landbased counterpart, with Pariente describing it as“ building the roof before the foundations.” However, the negative discourse around the online sector and the regulation that came with it has quieted since the turn of the year. That appears to make land-based legalization likely to happen, though in Brazil, nothing is certain.
Celia is confident, however, declaring,“ To be very honest, I’ m sick of this story, because it’ s not true. Everybody knows there’ s a small percentage, less than 1 percent of the population, that’ s subject to excessive gambling. But everybody else, they have the money, they know how to stop, they know how much they can bet.
“ The good news is, since January 1 when the regulated market started, I talked to a lot of people. I have my feelings that this pressure has been lower and lower, and I hope in three months, six months, it will disappear, because it doesn’ t make sense. There’ s no point in this kind of prejudice on gambling, in my opinion.”
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