“Currently, gambling legalization is the only way to increase the Brazilian government reserves”

"There’s a good chance that the law will be discussed after the presidential election," said Olavo Salles da Silveira when asked by Yogonet at this year’s edition of BgC in Sao Paulo.

"We will have three months this year, after the election results and before the new authorities take office, and in that period it is common in Brazil for the new president to begin to assume a leadership role," said Salles da Silveria , and added: "The new president will have to deal with a very large budget deficit, which is why we believe it is likely that when the government reserves are analyzed, gambling will be taken into account as part of a budgetary solution, since of the bills that are being discussed currently in Congress, the gambling regulation ones are of those few alternatives that will provide for an increase in the goverment reserves".

“If the voting does not take place after the election, it is likely to occur during the first half of the new term of office” states the president of the association. However, when being consulted about the two bill still standing in Congress, and expected to be discussed in their respective chambers, Sales da Silveira was categorical: "They are both negative."

"The Senate's bill is too restrictive," he argued, "It is too narrow to comprise the whole Brazilian market, while the Deputies' proposed legislation increases the offer way too much, ignoring the current ability of the Brazilian people to invest in gambling". What would happen if this measure were approved by the Deputies? "If approved, it would generate a very large division in society and would not provide the necessary scale to establish large, profitable operations, which are the ones that generally reflect the best control, entertainment offer, and predictability of the gaming market, which must be controlled and audited. "

And when asked about the "tourism" aspect of Brazil's gambling market, the head of Abrabincs pointed out that, in his opinion, Brazilian tourists will be in a better position than foreign visitors. "Today, with gambling legalization the main attraction is for domestic tourism (...) Brazil needs to do a much more intense job to sell its tourist destinations abroad and even work on the security aspect to become a country clearly focused on international tourism. But for domestic tourism, which has other expectations and another dynamic, legalization would be a significant measure ".