Continuing the series of interviews for the website “Tribuna da Imprensa Livre” focused on the discussion about the legalization of gambling in Brazil, journalist Luiz Carlos Prestes Filho spoke with lawyer Frederico Lemos. The interviewee is known for working in the field of business law and intellectual property.
During the conversation, Lemos stated that the implementation of casinos and bingos takes place in tourism and leisure complexes aiming that this betting sector also leverages other practices and services with job openings and income generation.
In addition, he pointed out that the artistic, musical, dance, visual, graphic and dance sectors would be significantly benefited by the return of these establishments in the national territory.
“The regulation of the sector must necessarily provide in its context for the creation of broader structures aimed at the development of local tourism and activities related to the sectors of culture and entertainment”, said the lawyer.
Check out the interview with Frederico Lemos
Luiz Carlos Prestes Filho: Casinos, entertainment, leisure and music; is that relationship historical in Brazil?
Frederico Lemos: Without a doubt. The golden age of casinos in Brazil is closely linked to leisure and entertainment. The economic development of the cities that housed casinos in Brazil had as a driving force the investment and the businesses that gravitated around them. During the short period of legality, between the 1930s and 1940s, casinos proliferated throughout Brazil, generating employment and income, fostering national tourism and attracting foreign tourists.
As the majority were installed in luxury hotels, it was common for international personalities, politicians, artists and celebrities to transit. This is a period marked by great shows and musical attractions, among which the unforgettable Carmen Miranda who performed in several casinos throughout Brazil.
Entertainment, leisure and music are part of the productive chain of casinos and a source of job creation, income and tax collection. The history of the presence of casinos in Brazil has left us this legacy of socio-cultural and economic development.
Luiz Carlos Prestes Filho: Would it be important, with the regulation of casinos and bingo in Brazil, to value artistic activities and inside establishments?
Frederico Lemos: I believe it is important to follow models of regulation of more mature markets in which the installation of casinos and bingo necessarily entails counterparts for the city and the local population. Therefore, the creation of casinos and bingos takes place within tourist and entertainment complexes so that the main activity focused on gambling also involves other activities and services that generate jobs and income.
It is in this context of opportunities that artistic activities stand out, from the most varied, from musical performances, dance shows to graphic and visual arts exhibitions. The regulation of the sector must necessarily provide in its context for the creation of broader structures aimed at the development of local tourism and activities related to the culture and entertainment sectors, thereby increasing the links in the productive chain of gambling to cover other activities that guarantee the sustainability of the sector and the local economy.
Take the example of Casino Iguazu, located in the city of Puerto Iguazu, a few meters from the border with Brazil, on the way to the Iguaçu Falls tourist complex on the Argentine side, concentrating a large flow of tourists from the triple border (Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay) that travel through the place.
Not for nothing, Argentina accounts for more than half of Latin America’s gambling revenue. This is an example to be followed and with enormous growth potential, given that Brazil’s cultural, artistic and environmental diversity are elements that add great value to economic development.
Luiz Carlos Prestes Filho: Should Brazilian music content take priority in casinos and bingos?
Frederico Lemos: In my view, the answer to this question is necessarily linked to the entertainment theme planned by each establishment. By this I mean that casinos and bingos generate great value-added opportunities that go far beyond gambling. These opportunities range from architectural design and decoration, through licensing of entertainment content rights on betting machines, to the choice of musical ambience and live attractions.
Let us think of a hypothetical scenario for the installation of a hotel complex with a casino on the Brazilian side of the triple frontier of Foz do Iguaçu. Imagine that the casino will explore the local theme with an emphasis on nature, flora and fauna in the region, highlighting the importance of issues related to sustainability and biodiversity. It is to be imagined that the architecture, decoration and artistic works that circulate within this establishment are in line with the chosen theme.
That is why I believe that the Brazilian artistic content will have a natural priority in casinos and bingos, due to the question of the higher added value that it confers on the enterprise. However, it is essential that the regulatory and inspection policies ensure equal access to all those interested in associating their content with bingos and casinos. It is to say that independent artists, community collectives and artists’ associations must be guaranteed the same access rights as large economic groups and conglomerates.
In the example mentioned above, it would be difficult to imagine a casino built on the banks of the Iguaçu Falls, in the image and similarity of those existing in Las Vegas with the theme of Hollywood films. However, this risk is real in a scenario without access to the national product.
Luiz Carlos Prestes Filho: Would it be important to have a market reserve for Brazilian artists in these establishments?
Frederico Lemos: This is an interesting question for which there is no easy answer. Issues related to market reserve policies must be analyzed on a case-by-case basis according to their own sector and the context.
We can cite Brazilian experiences in the computer and automotive sectors in the 1970s and 1980s. The market reserve policies are based on the protection and development of the industry and the national product and must be launched in sectors of incipient development or of clear imbalance of forces in the economic domain.
Our experience in these two industrial sectors was not the best and the reversal of this policy in the early 1990s, with the opening of the markets, resulted in greater growth, competitiveness and quality of the products offered to the consumer, but with the commitment of a policy of sustainable growth, transforming Brazil into a mere consumer market for imported products.
There is, of course, a great risk associated with the radicalization of both protectionist and economic liberalization policies. Extremes are dangerous and must be avoided. In the example cited, Brazil went from one extreme to the other without reaching the desired balance.
Let us draw a parallel between Brazil and South Korea, which in the 1980s had similar rates of human development. While Brazil bet on aggressive liberal market opening policies aimed at expanding consumption, South Korea invested heavily in education and in the primary and manufacturing industries.
What we see forty years later is that Brazil remains a giant in the export of inputs and commodities, the result of which is just over 1% of the share of global trade, while South Korea has become a power in several global sectors as in technology and motorsport, being the fifth largest exporter in the world. With regard to the artistic sector, the quality and acceptance of Brazilian cultural production in the domestic market is undeniable.
Brazil is one of the few territories in which national music is performed more than foreign music. The Brazilian’s relationship with his music is historical, diverse and rich. Therefore, there is no need to think of a market reserve for the Brazilian artist.
Artistic production in Brazil is abundant and the market is strong. Incentive policies, in turn, should be focused on training managers, projects and careers, and creating their own financing channels that ensure oxygenation and sustainability in the production chain.
Finally, I would like to emphasize that it is up to the State to ensure a healthy and competitive business environment, which allows it to intervene in the economic domain to correct any abuses and distortions generated by the concentration of economic power in small groups that may inhibit competition and prevent the independent Brazilian artist’s access to new business opportunities.
I believe that this is one of the biggest challenges for the Brazilian artist in an eventual scenario of large investments in the installation of casinos and bingos in large entertainment and tourism complexes across the country.
Luiz Carlos Prestes Filho: In Las Vegas, Macau, Monte Carlo, Punta do Leste and Estoril, artistic activities play an important role. As it would be in Brazil. Could parties like carnival and june parties be part of the calendar / imagery of each establishment?
Frederico Lemos: In any sector of the economy the product and the service with the highest added value provide the highest return on investment. It is no wonder that the vast majority of gambling establishments are located within hotel and entertainment complexes. The simple bet on games has a certain value, but the bet on games in an environment where the customer consumes other products and services has a much greater added value.
We can mention dozens of other festivities and Brazilian cultural and folkloric expressions that can accompany the attractions of June parties and carnival in these establishments. Brazilians are a people who produce and consume their cultural production. But let us not forget foreign tourists, true admirers and avid consumers of our cultural production.
The foreigner who comes to Brazil wants to know our culture, our gastronomy, our natural beauty. For this reason, I believe, a venture built in the image and likeness of casinos in Las Vegas, Macau and other locations would not reach its full potential.
Luiz Carlos Prestes Filho: Could the national platforms for electronic casino and bingo games give power to promote Brazilian music? Would national content have more space in the world?
Frederico Lemos: In my opinion, digital platforms are very different from the physical spaces of casinos and bingos. Traditional casinos and bingos are true entertainment centers, which in addition to betting offer other ranges of products and services to their customers. Your audience is made up not only of players, but of people looking for new entertainment options.
The virtual platforms, on the other hand, are aimed only at betting games and for this very reason, their target audience is players focused on betting. I do not see electronic gaming platforms as spaces for the dissemination of music or any other form of artistic expression.
On the other hand, there is the possibility of investments in marketing and advertising for betting game platforms in artistic digital channels, in the same way as some sports betting platforms are currently investing in football clubs in Brazil and around the world.
Although there is no clear correlation between artistic content and gambling, it is undeniable that the artistic sector has great popular appeal and for this reason it is an interesting channel for promoting products and services for a specific target audience.
Luiz Carlos Prestes Filho: Could Brazilian universities take advantage of courses in mathematics and computing, design and music to conduct research on software for the gambling industry?
Frederico Lemos: Intelligence is one of the great intangible assets alongside trademarks, patents, copyright and innovative processes. Intellectual capital is inexhaustible and companies should increasingly invest in training their human resources and developing business intelligence. The university is a strategic partner for any entrepreneurial project, offering intellectual capital, qualified labor and innovative solutions.
I believe that the university has much more to offer than just issues related to software. It is evident that the national development of programs for games is a strategic issue and generates wealth to the extent that intellectual property is a business asset. To invest in the development of national software is to have a vision of the future and business return.
The software produced in Brazil is customized to the national reality and to the needs of the Brazilian entrepreneur. But I propose a step further. The elaboration of a solution that involves not only watertight projects, but an integrated project in which the architecture, installations, furniture and technology solutions are in line with an agenda for the preservation of the environment, sustainability, use of renewable energies and recyclable materials.
In this hypothesis, the university and its incubators would play a leading role, in the development of innovative solutions and in strategic partnership with entrepreneurs. Enterprises with these characteristics would be perfectly integrated with the biodiversity of the varied Brazilian ecosystems, such as in the Amazon rainforest, Pantanal Mato Grosso, Serra Gaúcha, Atlantic Forest, Caatinga and Cerrado.
Luiz Carlos Prestes Filho: Is there any concern in Brazilian copyright societies and ECAD about the possibility of opening casinos and bingos? Is there a collection of musical content explored on digital platforms?
Frederico Lemos: Every company or business needs a license from the Central Collection and Distribution Office (ECAD) to legally use music in their establishment or enterprise. The use of music in physical and virtual spaces is protected by copyright law.
On its website, ECAD provides the public with information on the legal use of music, including the publication of its collection regulations in which it is possible to know the principles and licensing rules according to the characteristics of each establishment or enterprise.
Unless I am mistaken, there is no express provision in the ECAD regulation on the collection of copyrights in bingos and casinos, not least because there is still no legal provision for the operation of these establishments in Brazilian territory.
However, ECAD and the associations are always vigilant as to the new means of using music and certain that, with the approval of the functioning of these establishments, the principles and rules that guide the collection regulation will be used for the correct framing of these activities. so that the corresponding licensing of rights is carried out, through the collection and subsequent distribution of copyright to their respective owners.
It is important to note that digital platforms are also subject to licensing and payment of copyrights. However, given its virtual nature and the lack of physical borders, there are other criteria for identifying the service provider’s domicile, and licensing may be carried out by collective management entities from one or more countries.
