LV casinos weigh expanding to Brazil
Corruption is a conundrum there
Some Las Vegas-based companies are looking to Brazil even as the gaming industry considers Japan as possibly the next big international casino market.
Las Vegas Sands Corp. and Caesars Entertainment are among the companies keeping an eye on Brazil as a potential gaming market.
“Our company, like all of the companies actively looking at Brazil right now, is going through an exercise in process,” said Jan Jones Blackhurst, executive vice president of public policy and corporate responsibility for Caesars.
Blackhurst noted that no legislation or regulations have been established.
“But you’re looking at what could be significant markets,” she said. Three to four markets
Blackhurst has made trips to the world’s fifth-largest country, which has a population of more than 200 million people. She believes there are three or four cities in Brazil that could potentially support casinos, either because of their potential as tourist destinations or because they’re home to the nation’s wealthiest residents.
She lists the most viable markets as Brasilia, Sao Paulo, Salvador da Bahia and Rio de Janeiro, the site of last year’s Summer Olympic Games.
“Personally, I like Brasilia because it’s the capital and many affluent people live there. It’s very safe,” she said.
One of Caesars’ local competitors is also kicking the tires in Brazil.
“We see what everybody else sees: It’s a large population base and a fascinating country,” said Rob Goldstein, president and chief operating officer of Las Vegas Sands, operators of two Las Vegas casinos and properties in Macau and Singapore.
“Rio and especially Sao Paulo with its large population are compelling,” Goldstein said. “If you look at comparable numbers for gaming in that
BRAZIL
region, it’s clearly a market you need to pay attention to.”
Brazil has so much potential that Sands Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson traveled there in May for a visit.
“He decided to have a look for himself and he was impressed with what he saw,” Goldstein said.
Adelson met with Brazilian President Michel Temer and other high-ranking officials. Following the visit, Rio de Janeiro Mayor Marcelo Crivella told Brazil’s O Globo newspaper that he and Adelson discussed potential investments in the city of around $8 billion.
Goldstein said establishing casinos in that country is still far in the future.
‘Early innings’
“It’s a long process and we’re in the early innings,” he said. “We’re still far away from seeing legislation and the approval process.”
Blackhurst concurred.
“The final outcome will depend on what that legislation looks like,” she
said. “Is it at a tax level that allows you to invest the capital they expect? Are the regulations going to be of a standard that will allow U.S. companies with highly privileged and regulated licenses to be able to comfortably participate?”
Two bills regarding casino gambling are under consideration by Brazilian lawmakers.
Blackhurst said she’s seen the reports of her competitors investing billions of dollars in Brazil, “but if you don’t know the tax rate and you don’t know the locations, you can say it, but (it may not be that amount).”
MGM Resorts International, which like Caesars and Sands is in the hunt to develop casinos in Japan, has considered Brazil, with Chairman and CEO Jim Murren paying a recent visit. A company spokesman said this week that MGM “is interested in it and monitoring it.”
Operation Car Wash
One of the big concerns in Brazil is an ongoing corruption scandal involving money laundering and bribery allegations against several government leaders. The investigation, known as Operation Car Wash, involves executives
with Petrobras, a state-controlled oil company, allegedly taking bribes in return for awarding contracts to construction companies at inflated prices.
Brazil’s federal police are conducting the investigation that began in 2014. The widespread nature of the probe has made it difficult for casino executives to talk specifics with some leaders.
“What I’ve learned is that whether it’s Chicago, Illinois, or Japan or Singapore, it takes a champion (to lead legislative efforts),” Goldstein said. “It takes a leader, someone with a vision to get it to happen and it takes a unified approach to get it through.”
He said in Japan, that point man is Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
“In the case of Brazil, it’s unclear because you don’t know what’s going to happen there. It’s in flux with all these accusations and national headlines.”
The Review-journal is owned by the family of Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson.
Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @Rickvelotta on Twitter.