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Casino Gaming Set to Open in Brazil in First Half of 2025

Byadmin

Jan 30, 2025


(Image: Brastock Images)

Online casino gaming is live in Brazil, and according to the country’s minister of tourism, land-based properties are not far behind.

Celso Sabino, the Brazilian minister of tourism, announced the country would look to open brick-and-mortar casino gaming sites across the nation as soon as it is legalized. Industry figures in Brazil, just as they are in the US, are eager to widen the casino market.

PL 2,234/2022, which legalized regulated casino gaming, horseracing wagering, bingo and other games of chance in June, has been stalled within the Brazilian legislative chamber since it passed with a 14-12 vote in the nation’s Justice and Citizen Committee.

Most recently, Brazilian senator Iraja Silvestre withdrew the bill in December after it had still not been voted on in the Senate.

(Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Hollywood, FL)

“The bill regulating casinos has already been approved in the chamber of deputies and is in the Senate,” Sabino told Mercado y Eventos. “We expect it to be approved and sanctioned by the president in the first half of 2025.”

Opponents have cited gambling’s effect on the public, especially those on social welfare programs who are spending their money on iGaming. Those same critics are publicly hoping it will never be realized.

“[The bill] was in purgatory. It was in limbo, waiting for an opportunity,” Senator Esperiadio Amin told iGaming Business. “Six feet [under] is not enough. It has to disappear.”

“We made a mistake, and the mistake is lives destroyed,” Senator Eduardo Girao said in December. “We cannot take another step, make another mistake, which could cause more problems than solutions.”

According to M&E, Sabino highlighted the economic impact of regulated casino gaming, including its ability to generate employment and economic development.

It also will bring in revenue, especially to the federal government, since operators in the country are subject to a 12 percent federal tax under Brazil’s current iGaming regulations.

(Senator Iraja Silvestre)

Still, the relatively high federal operating tax has not deterred operators. Mainstays BetMGM, bet365 and Betano are among the companies that have launched in Brazil, and U.S.-based Hard Rock International has also expressed interest in developing one of its signature hotel/casinos in the South American nation once casino gaming opens there.

“[Hard Rock] has the ability to create relationships with local entrepreneurs, whether those are construction companies, banks or gambling brands,” Hard Rock corporate senior vice president of casino and hotel operations Alex Pariente told iGaming Business.

“I can only imagine it would be the same in Brazil. We’re not coming there to impose our will or whatever. We’re coming there just to build the perfect team that will ensure we’re going to have a successful property that will serve the purpose that both the government and the company are pursuing.”

With Hard Rock and other houses lobbying, plus Sabino’s work, there is confidence that the timing is right now for casinos in Brazil.

“I’ve been following this process over the last 20 years, and in the last five years with a lot of intensity. We’ve never been this close,” Pariente said. “The debate has been very intense. I’ve been myself in the Senate a couple of times, and I think it’s a very healthy thing to happen before we go into more concrete actions. 

“I’m positive, and I think you’re going to see results very soon.”

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