Amid the continuing legislative debate regarding the future of legalized gambling in Brazil, at least three foreign firms have reportedly expressed an interest in building and operating a casino resort complex in the nation’s eastern state of Minas Gerais.
According to a report from G3Newswire, the revelation came from Marco Antonio Castello Branco, President for the Minas Gerais Economic Development Company, with two of the interested parties, said to be from Spain while the third is allegedly based in the United States. Castello Branco reportedly revealed that the trio is interested in bringing a casino resort to a building in the purpose-built Tancredo Neves Administrative City, which is located just north of the city of Belo Horizonte and houses offices for the Minas Gerais state government.
“The investors came looking to find out about the business conditions but since the Minas Gerais Economic Development Company no longer owns the structure, I advised them to talk directly to the Minas Gerais government,” Castello Branco told G3Newswire. Castello Branco additionally stated that the government for the state of approximately 21 million people would most likely rent space in which an operator could run a casino resort rather than sell any property outright.
“From what I read, the procedure will be done through bidding, thus ensuring all transparency,” Castello Branco told G3Newswire.
Castello Branco moreover declared that the government for Minas Gerais is currently taking a wait-and-see approach to proposed gambling legislation but could be eager to open a casino as these are often associated with the construction of large-scale tourist resorts and hotels.
Legislation that would legalize casinos and some forms of gambling is currently making its way through both houses of the Brazilian National Congress. The lower Chamber Of Deputies successfully drafted a measure last year that defines what types of games would be allowed along with guidelines for licensing and taxation but similar legislation from the Federal Senate failed to make it out of committee.
Designed by Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer and sitting on the site of a former racetrack some twelve miles north of Belo Horizonte, the 197-acre Tancredo Neves Administrative City was built to house 16,000 local civil servants in five massive buildings including one that is the world’s largest suspended reinforced concrete structure.
