The gambling sector in Brazil will increase by 700% until 2024, according to a study carried out by the H2 Gambling Capital company. Thus, the benefits in the iGaming sector will go from 73.9 million dollars to 581.4 million dollars in the coming years.
Regarding the rest of the countries, Latin America and the Caribbean, the increase will also be very significant. According to the H2 Gambling Capital study, it is estimated that it will increase around 66% in the coming years and this will mean gross annual profits of about 2.33 billion dollars. This increase will be determined by both physical casinos and online casinos.
The legalization of gambling in Brazil: challenges and challenges
In the 1940s gambling was banned in Brazil. Currently in America casinos are prohibited in Brazil, Ecuador and Cuba. Among those in favor of the legalization of both physical and online gambling, they consider that legalization would contribute very positively to the state coffers and would create new jobs.
It is estimated that around 20 million Brazilians bet on physical games and about 10 million Brazilians make bets online daily. It is estimated that clandestine gambling in Brazil amounts to 4,530 million euros, 20,000 million reais annually. There are currently around 600 illegal gambling halls and at least 150 unauthorized casinos. It is estimated that in the case of legalizing it, around 658 thousand direct employees and 619 thousand indirect jobs would be needed.
The president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, is in favor of the total legalization of gambling in Brazil and considers that the final decision should be made by the State. For his part, the president of the Tourism Commission of the Chamber of Deputies, Newton Cardoso Júnior, has urged the president of the Chamber, Rodrigo Maia, that the legalization of all forms of gambling in tourist resorts in Brazil be a priority for debate in Congress.
35 casinos and 3,612 million euros
In the case of approving Bill 442/1991, 20 existing gambling regulation proposals, the green light would be given to the opening of casinos in different cities of the country. A casino could be opened in states with a population of at least 15 million inhabitants. In the case of States with between 15 and 25 million inhabitants, they could have two rooms. And those States with more than 25 million inhabitants, three wards.
The Bill provides for the legalization of all physical and online games: casinos, bingo halls, sports betting, lottery and “jogo do bicho”. On October 31, 2019 during the II Meeting of Leaders, the Secretary of Integration of the Ministry of Tourism, Bob Santos, said that if the Bill were approved, Brazil would have a maximum of 35 casinos and that this would mean about extraordinary income of “R $ 16 billion for the country” (3,612,000 million euros).
Among the voices against this legalization is Suely Sales Guimarães, an expert in impulse control disorders, who believes that legalization will bring a growth in people addicted to gambling. “This activity becomes an addictive activity. It is similar to addiction to alcohol, cocaine, heroin, any chemical drug. So that would be a behavioral addiction, not a chemical one. And the person can develop pathological gambling disorder “, explains Sales Guimarães.
