New support for casinos in Brazil
The future president of the Brazilian Association of Tourism Journalists (ABRAJET) has voiced support for the legalisation of casinos in Brazil.
Brazil.- The possible legalisation of casinos in Brazil has gained a new ally as the journalist Luis Solano takes over as president of the Brazilian Association of Tourism Journalists (ABRAJET) from December 18.
Solano has voiced support for the legalisation of casinos as well as other segments such as bingo, slots and the Jogo do Bicho (a currently illegal game) in Brazil.
Luiz Solano is a member of the Planalto Academy of Literature and Arts, and of the Federal District History and Geography Institute. He has served as head of journalists at the Palácio do Planalto, the Brazilian presidential palace, and at the National Congress.
He now covers the behind the scenes at the Palácio do Planalto, ministries, the National Congress and other federal agencies in Brasilia for various radio stations and news sites.
ABRAJET was founded in Río in 1957 by a group of journalists and writers. Currently, it has divisions throughout Brazil, mobilising around 350 journalists who work in newspapers, magazines, televisions, radio stations, websites, blogs and public and private press offices in the tourism sector.
The debate on gambling
Brazil has the potential to be one of the most attractive international markets for the gaming industry but gambling remains prohibited. Legalisation is now one of the principal themes on the government’s agenda but there are divisions on how it should be implemented.
For the minister of tourism, Marcelo Álvaro Antonio, legalisation should permit integrated resorts. He is against allowing slot halls or bingo halls, but favours legislation to permit large tourism projects that could include casinos.
Senator Angelo Coronel, another big campaigner for legalisation, believes the industry would create 700,000 direct jobs and 600,000 indirect jobs in addition to providing a major new source of income for the state.
However, he proposes including bingo games, slots and other games of chance, because he argues that casinos alone “would generate revenue within four or five years, while Brazil needs it immediately.”
On the opposite side of the debate, there are ministers who are firmly anti-gambling, such as the minister for women, family and human rights, Damares Alves, who considers it “a pact with the devil”.
