Florianópolis must apply to open a casino in Santa Catarina: How will it affect Tourism?

The bill to legalize betting in Brazil was approved in the Chamber of Deputies and will now be evaluated in the Senate. Two tourist cities in Santa Catarina must require the installation of a casino resort: Balneário Camboriú and the capital Florianópolis.

If the text is kept, the State will only be able to count on a venture of this type, since there is a limit of one casino for States with up to 15 million residents.

The two municipalities emerge as strong candidates and are already attracting potential investors, including the analysis of areas that could receive the casino resort.

Bill 86/2014

With long years since the beginning of the discussion, the bill 186/2014 aims to release gambling in all its forms.

This project includes spaces with slot machines, bingo games, animal games and finally the operation by the casinos.

One of the great arguments used by those who defend the liberation of the games of casino online, is that it is now possible for any citizen to access platforms via the Internet.

Online gaming platforms keep growing and Brazil is no exception. In fact, casinos operate legally because they are headquartered in other countries, where Brazilian law cannot operate.

In the absence of specific laws that regulate online gambling, in practice, any citizen can play roulette, blackjack, video poker, slot machines, simply by registering on these online platforms.

The Resort Casino

The proposal foresees that the gaming complex will have 100 luxury suites and a capital of 100 million reais. In this system, only 20% of the space in the center will be dedicated to games.

According to the NSC Total portal, Floripa takes the lead due to air access and greater availability of space.

However, Balneario Camboriu has historically had a more aggressive investment policy in the tourism and entertainment segment. Therefore, the fight has everything to be very fierce.

Balneário Camboriú is pointed out as one of the targets of the law, the operational model can generate international tourism and resources for the chosen city. However, it is possible that two cities will benefit if another modality is consolidated, the "tourist casinos", in which the game is not linked to a luxury hotel.

Santa Catarina: There's only room for one

How easy it is to understand, Santa Catarina will only be entitled to a resort casino if the project proceeds as it is. In this way, we can identify a first problem, as tourism in Santa Catarina should have more than one operating space.

Costão do Santinho Resort will certainly be one of the “key players” to obtain a license for the Santa Catarina casino, and it seems obvious that Floripa will receive this type of equipment. But after all, what will be the position of Balneário Camboriú in this matter?

This is a traditional beach town that attracts the attention of all types of tourists, especially Argentines. Is this the best option for the State? Wouldn't it be necessary to demand a different regime for it, or adjust the project to the reality of tourism in Santa Catarina?