Summary
- Increasing tourism and visitation
- Creating gambling, tourism-related jobs and other employment opportunities
- Generating additional gambling tax revenue
- Providing legal, regulated and responsible gambling for visitors and residents
- Decreasing the share of illegal gambling and money flowing to criminal organizations
- Expansion of tourism may impact Rio de Janeiro's public infrastructure and transportation
- Introduction of VLTs and casinos may result in an uptick in gambling addiction and problem gambling cases
- Criminal networks may consider exploiting the sector for unlawful activities such as money laundering
- The potential gambling expansion and increased visitation may create a security risk, requiring innovative solutions
- Transforming Rio into Las Vegas may create inequality between some zones of the city, potentially increasing crime
Millions of tourists visit Rio de Janeiro annually and the seaside city is famous across the globe for its Copacabana and Ipanema beaches, as well as the huge Christ the Redeemer statue that is more than 120 ft tall, sitting on top of Mount Corcovado. While Rio de Janeiro is undoubtedly a tourist hotspot, a new and ambitious plan seeks to propel the city's popularity, making it amajor gambling capital for the region. Becoming Brazil's Las Vegas, Rio de Janeiro is expected to attract even more tourists than ever before, create new jobs, fund vital social programs and provide legal and regulated gambling entertainment that generates tax revenue instead of fueling criminal organizations.
Rio leads the way for gambling expansion
The local government in Rio de Janeiro supports the idea of delivering regulated gambling as a way to boost tourism, tap into a new stream of tax revenue, while at the same time creating tens of thousands of jobs. Undoubtedly, the idea of becoming the equivalent of Las Vegas in Latin America sounds ambitious, yet it isn't surprising. This is because talks about the expansion of gambling in Brazil have been ongoing for years. Back in 1946, President Eurico Gaspar Dutra signed a law that effectively prohibited gambling and casinos across the country. While decades have passed since the signing of the decree that banned gambling, talks about the potential lifting of the ban haven't stopped. Notably, Brazil made a major step in the expansion of gambling with the launch of legal sports betting. With the activity going live officially on January 1, 2025, several months later, the country sought to strengthen the integrity of sports and consumer protection. As a result, the Brazilian Ministry of Sports selected Sportradar to uphold the sector's integrity. In case the plan to make Rio de Janeiro, Brazil's Las Vegas, becomes a reality, this would also create new opportunities for iGaming, technology, cybersecurity and security companies. After all, safeguarding the sector from potential crimes, fraud or other unlawful activities is as important as the establishment of transparent, effective and fair regulations. If Rio's gambling expansion plan succeeds, the city would be home to 200,000 VLTs, and more than 60,000 new jobs are expected to be crated.
Transforming Rio de Janeiro requires the establishment of effective gambling regulations
In making Rio de Janeiro an equivalent of Las Vegas for Brazil, the local government is proposing the regulation of video lottery terminals (VLTs) and casinos. This bold move is expected to strengthen the local economy, offer new employment opportunities and generate vital tax revenue. In turn, the famous city anticipates an influx of tourists from across the globe. As a result, not only will Rio de Janeiro benefit from a new tax revenue stream, but it will also become more attractive for visitors from all parts of the world. Still, that plan remains contingent on the regulation of VLTs. According to the proposal, backed by Rio de Janeiro's state lottery, Loterj, responsibility and transparency will be at the epicenter of the gambling expansion. This summer, Hazenclever Lopes Cançado, Loterj's president, discussed the topic with experts in the field. A statement released by the state lottery explained: Our team met with experts to discuss the implementation of Video Lottery Terminal (VLT), a technology that promises to revolutionize the local market, generate jobs, and strengthen the state economy. Cançado, together with Loterj's vice-president, FabĂola Esteves, met with two legal experts and discussed the potential of the gambling expansion with the regulation of VLTs in what was described as one of the major phases in the preparation of the transformation of Rio de Janeiro. Quoted in a report from BNL Data, Cançado spoke about the importance of the legal gambling sector that stands out with sustainability, responsibility and effective regulation. Our goal is to ensure innovation with responsibility, while maintaining legal certainty and respect for the rules. Actively listening to professionals with experience in the sector is essential for this, he said at the time.
Pros and cons of turning Rio de Janeiro into the Brazilian Las Vegas
Transforming Rio, which is also popular as Cidade Maravilhosa, into the equivalent of Las Vegas in Brazil offers many benefits, including but not limited to: Seeing Rio become Las Vegas in Brazil also has some negative sides, such as: Much can be said in support and opposition to the expansion of gambling in Rio de Janeiro and the plan to turn it into the equivalent of Las Vegas in Brazil. According to recent data, the city's population is an estimated 13.9m people and has increased by nearly 100,000 people or 0.72% in the last year. In that context, Cidade Maravilhosawill likely continue to grow, and if the redevelopment plan succeeds, this growth will likely accelerate.
Loterj plans to leverage innovation and technology to address potential challenges
In October, Cançado visited Las Vegas, attending one of the most important events for the betting and gaming industry, Global Gaming Expo (G2E). He talked about the plan to put Rio de Janeiro at the forefront of gambling in Brazil. A press release by Loterj at the time reads: Loterj pioneered bet licensing and is now advancing with regulating VLTs, driving job generation, tourism and social investment statewide. According to the state lottery, Rio holds the key to the future of legal and responsible gambling in Brazil. Drawing inspiration from best practices of some of the most mature gambling markets across the globe, including Las Vegas, Loterj intends to establish a market that is regulated, safe and responsible. This would be accomplished by innovative technology, transparency, player protection and effective regulation, the state lottery said.
Will Rio's ambition of becoming the Brazilian Las Vegas come to life?
The plan of turning Rio de Janeiro into a gambling capital for Brazil and the region is ambitious to say the least. Leveraging innovation, best practices and flexible regulation is undoubtedly going to make a difference and play a major role in the plan. The so-called Las Vegas Plan projects the installation of up to 200,000 VLTs across the city and in go-to venues like Hotel Nacional and other popular businesses. Equally as important, more than 60,000 new jobs are expected to be created if Rio's plan succeeds. One of the major challenges the gambling expansion plan is facing is the complexity of gambling regulations. While Rio lawmakers may circumvent country-wide regulations by introducing licensing locally, some critics are concerned with that method and support legislation on a federal level. Legal gambling is expanding not only in Brazil but in Latin America, too. Some lawmakers and stakeholders in Rio certainly have the will to make such a change, but whether that becomes reality is yet to be seen.
