The city of Araxá has begun preparations to allow for casinos thereby taking the initiative to regulate gambling before the approval of the land based expansion bill PL 2234/2022. Authored by Mayor Robson Magela, PL154/2025 allows the concession to the private sector for “gaming services in tourist mode.”
Located in a tourist region in Alto Paranaíba, the municipality will allow for casinos in order to boost the local economy. The city has long been associated with the industry as it inaugurated Brazil’s first casino in 1944 at the Grande Hotel Termas.
According to the city’s Secretary of Economic Development, Ítalo Marcus Borges, the approval of the project demonstrates Araxá’s readiness to receive casinos, in accordance with the requirements being processed in the National Congress.
“We have advantages, such as the complex with resorts and other areas of expansion that serve as incentives for other enterprises. In addition to our strategic location with easy access to São Paulo and Goiás, Araxá is also considered the safest city in the state and has a Human Development Index (HDI) above 7.7%. This attracts investments,” he said.
Borges believes that the return of a casino in Araxá will drive economic growth in all sectors. “The expectation is that it will boost both commerce and the provision of services, encompassing areas such as health, security, and education,” he emphasized.
Currently, the municipality has 2,700 hotel beds and plans to open two more hotels later this year.
It is the second municipality to allow for casinos. In May 2025 the city hall of Olimpia, a municipality in São Paulo’s interior, officially introduced a bill that classifies the operation of gambling games as “public services of relevant tourist and social interest,” especially when conducted in integrated casinos linked to high-end resorts. The legislation was signed by Mayor Eugenio Zuliani and was published in the municipal official gazette on May 14.
However there is still plenty of uncertainty surrounding Brazil’s wider expansion bill which has been in a legislative limbo for years in one form or another. In December 2024 the senate postponed the vote on the bill but debate is expected on the senate floor before the year is out. Senator Irajá, the rapporteur of the bill, told press in July that if it is approved revenue from gambling activities could reach R$ 20 billion. In addition to revenue generation, the land-based expansion bill anticipates that market regulation will attract R$ 100 billion in investments and create over 1.5 million direct and indirect jobs.
This amount refers to taxes on financial transactions from casinos, bingos, the illegal street numbers game known as “the animal game” (jogo do bicho), and horse racing, as outlined in the bill. The bill would also allow for a huge expansion of electronic bingo machines and slots across Brazil.
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The city of Araxá has begun preparations to allow for casinos thereby taking the initiative to regulate gambling before the approval of the land based expansion bill PL 2234/2022. Authored by Mayor Robson Magela, PL154/2025 allows the concession to the private sector for “gaming services in tourist mode.” Located in a tourist region in Alto Paranaíba,…
The post Brazilian city of Araxá prepares for land based casinos appeared first on G3 Newswire.