Deputies and representatives of the tourism sector defended the approval of the Regulatory Framework for the Brazilian Games (PL 442/91) in debate, which has been under discussion for 30 years in the Chamber of Deputies. For advocates of the return of casinos, banned in 1946, the activity would also be a way to leverage the segment in the post-pandemic.
In the debate, requested by the president of the Tourism Commission, deputy Bacelar (Pode-BA), he addressed the problems faced by the sector.
According to Magno José, president of the Instituto Brasileiro Jogo Legal, around 30 million Brazilians bet on illegal games (such as the game of animals) or unregulated ones (such as sports betting on the internet) every day.
Irregular casinos in Brazil
Also according to Magno, even irregular casinos emerged in the pandemic. And he stated that the country fails to collect more than R$ 22 billion in taxes per year by not regularizing the games.
Deputy Delegate Pablo (PSL-AM) stated that the problems associated with games, such as corruption and money laundering, are not exclusive to this activity:
“Has anyone not noticed that the game is in our reality every day? Until we regulate, it will be punished with the loss of tax collection, which is already in the billions in Brazil. It will be punished with the lack of generation income,” declared Pablo.
Concession of national parks to the private sector
Another theme raised at the seminar was the concession of national parks and forests to the private sector. The head of the Office of New Projects of the Partnership and Investment Program of the Presidency of the Republic, Alceu Justus Filhos, informed that the government is working to grant 18 of them.
The idea is to transfer the parks for about 30 years, requiring investments, mainly for the preservation of conservation units. Dealerships are committed to increasing visitation, promoting accessibility and mobility.
Recently, the National Park of Aparados da Serra and Serra Geral in Santa Catarina were awarded; and the national forests of Canela and Gramado, in Rio Grande do Sul. Another seven national parks had already been granted, such as Chapada dos Veadeiros, in Goiás.
Alceu Justus Filho stated that the country has the potential to reach the 300 million annual visitors that the United States gets in its national parks. In Brazil, today this number is 15 million.
“Every year the concessionaire has to take a percentage of its gross revenue and invest in various macro-themes that the government specifies and approves – in this case ICMBio – how this money will be used”, he explained.
Executive Director of the Integrated System of Parks and Tourist Attractions, Carolina Negri said that Brazil already has six water parks among the ten most visited in Latin America, with leadership for Thermas dos Laranjais, in São Paulo. Among the theme parks, only Beto Carrero World, in Santa Catarina, appears in second place.
For Carolina, there is already a resumption of the visitation lost in the pandemic. The sector’s revenues, according to her, fell 75% and around 25% of jobs were lost.
She claimed the inclusion of the tourism sector in the payroll tax exemption system (PL 2541/21) and the approval of the bill (PL 2380/21) that modernizes the General Tourism Fund.
The other demands of the debate
During the debate, businessmen and lawmakers made other demands. Manoel Cardoso, president of the Brazilian Association of the Hotel Industry, expressed concern about the rate of the new consumption tax that is being studied in the tax reform.
He and the deputy from Baselal also asked the Senate to approve a bill (PL 2724/15) that would change some points of the General Tourism Law, and would allow foreign capital to have a stake in airlines operating in Brazil.
