In an interview with 98 FM Natal, the minister said that he visited, at the beginning of last year, integrated tourist complexes in Las Vegas, United States. He emphasized that the resorts not only have casinos, but also large hotels, restaurants, parks and shopping centers, which generate miles of jobs and move the entire tourist chain in the surroundings. The casinos, in most cases, represent only about 23%, according to him, of the turnover of this team.

“The casino is just one part of the team. The team is called an integrated resort. It has huge hotels with at least 7 thousand beds, very well structured, a convention center for up to 200 thousand people. They fill the surrounding hotels. In addition, it has a water park, restaurant, bar, shop, shopping center of all the world's brands. And there is the casino part. What has surprised me the most is that the share of the game is only 23% of the turnover”, the minister stressed.

Gilson Machado recalled that the eventual legalization of the casinos depends on the approval of the National Congress. The minister acknowledged that the issue does not advance in the legislature due to the resistance of the evangelical group, which forms the base of support for the government of Jair Bolsonaro in parliament.

“We have to convince our evangelical base. Even the church has an integrated resort. But we have to know our base of support for her to accept it from there. We are under construction, ”said the minister, noting that the articulation to legalize the practice has been carried out by senators Flávio Bolsonaro (Republicans-RJ) and Irajá Silvestre (PSD-TO).

The Tourism Minister also pointed out that Brazil is one of the few richest countries in the world that does not legalize the practice of the casino. “I think that Brazil has a great opportunity. Of the 20 G-20 countries, the only non-Muslim country that does not have an integrated resort is Brazil. Billions of dollars will go to investments. And Brazil is the last frontier. But we always have the last word from the Congress, to see how it comes out of there ”, he concluded.