Florianópolis and its potential to host a casino resort with regulation in Brazil

The Chamber of Deputies, at the approve the base text of the bill that aims to legalize gaming in Brazil, triggered an intriguing possibility for two of Santa Catarina's main tourist destinations: Florianópolis and Balneário Camboriú. However, under the current proposal, distribution is limited, allowing only one casino resort for states with up to 15 million inhabitants.

Florianópolis, with its vast territory and uncomplicated air access, emerges as a natural candidate to house this development. The project stipulates that the proposed resort must have at least 100 high-standard rooms and an initial capital of R$100 million. It is interesting to note that only 20% of the resort area will be dedicated to gaming activities.

The asset of the capital of Santa Catarina lies in the breadth of available space and the convenience of air access, factors that place it in a strategic position in the race to host the project. However, Balneário Camboriú, with its history of aggressive policy in attracting investments in tourism and entertainment, appears as a strong competitor, promising fierce competition.

The casino resort, conceived as the centerpiece of this bill, is not only an opportunity to attract international tourists, but also a significant source of revenue for the host city. However, it is crucial to recognize that, even if only one of the cities is selected for the resort, both can benefit from another planned modality: "tourist casinos", in which gambling activities are not intrinsically linked to a hotel.

Regulations for "tourist casinos" require substantial tourist demand and a minimum location of 100 kilometers from the nearest casino resort. If these conditions are confirmed, Santa Catarina will potentially be able to enjoy both models simultaneously.

Brazil Fernandes, a lawyer from Santa Catarina representing the Brazilian Bingo and Casino Association, reports that there are at least 10 international groups showing interest in investing in the legal gaming market in Brazil. He highlights the importance of legal security to attract these investors, indicating that the current phase is one of economic-financial analysis, evaluating the investment return and recovery periods.

It is important to highlight that the casino resort structure in Brazil is not like online gaming, where a series of new casinos are licensed and operate in Brazil without any problems, just check out the wide number of new platforms that are launched. The implementation of physical casinos continues to be discussed among parliamentarians who add issues related to religious dogmas, morals and customs that are not aimed at creating new jobs, collecting taxes or creating new attractions for tourists from all over the world. .

Therefore, keep in mind that, according to estimates, illegal gambling generates approximately R$27 billion per year in Brazil, an amount that, with legalization, could be reversed in taxation. In other words, it's not like games don't exist, they just don't contribute anything to society if they remain illegal.

The sector's expectation is that more than 650 jobs will be created with legalization, considering the United States as an example, where legalized gambling generates US$74 billion and generates 1,7 billion jobs.