The Cost of Hypocrisy by Carlo Barbieri*

Sixty-six years ago, Brazil closed down casinos in the country. In the years from 1946 to the present, this prohibition has contributed to the creation of state-controlled gambling, with its consequent political ills, increased corruption within the repressive apparatus, job losses, and the outflow of foreign currency.

While in the US, the expansion of gambling and its regulation have occupied the agenda of the Executive and Legislative branches, with the aim of increasing public revenue during this period of budgets depleted by the crisis, in Brazil we see the hypocrisy continue and the decision is being made behind closed doors within both branches of government.

Leaders of some Christian religions attack gambling. I tried to find in the Bible what supports this resistance to gambling. In the more than 2.300 pages of my study Bible, I found nothing condemning gambling. In fact, only a few words related to entertainment. The passage in Matthew 27:35, which refers to the Roman soldiers casting lots for Jesus' clothes, can be condemned as a malicious and disrespectful act, but not gambling itself.

From a moral and religious standpoint, all vices must be condemned, for "a man is a slave to whatever masters him" (2 Peter 2:19). However, this applies to a man's submission to any thought or action over which he loses control, including food (gluttony), drink (drunkenness), sex (lust), etc. Even gambling is not among the seven deadly sins.

From a scientific point of view, it is abundantly proven that games, of any kind, including bingo, help brain development and even slow the progression of degenerative brain diseases such as Alzheimer's.

Having overcome moral and religious restrictions, and knowing the medical advantages, let's quickly focus on the aspect of organized crime and the crimes surrounding gambling.

Every day, we see police officers arrested for being paid to protect illegal gambling. They are illegal because they have been arbitrarily placed outside the law, despite the fact that it is an activity desired by a large part of society that sees gambling as a form of entertainment and does not want to be deprived of it.

The arguments in Dutra's presidential decree, which banned gambling in the country, could not be clearer in their falsity:

Presidential Decree-Law that closed the casinos: "Considering that the repression of gambling is an imperative of universal conscience; Considering that the penal legislation of all civilized peoples contains precepts tending to this end; Considering that the moral, legal and religious tradition of the Brazilian people is contrary to the practice and exploitation of gambling."

Now, universal consciousness has approved of gambling; it is practiced in all developed countries (only Cuba and Brazil do not allow gambling in the Americas), and Brazilian culture and moral tradition have included gambling since imperial times.

Let's now look at the economic aspects of the issue. When it was shut down, gambling eliminated 53.200 direct jobs in just the 71 casinos that were operating at the time. Today, it is estimated that at least 200.000 jobs would be generated immediately with the legalization of casinos and bingo halls, not considering the opportunities in the construction sector and other indirect jobs.

From a tax perspective, experts believe that approximately nine billion reais would be entering public coffers annually with the legalization of gambling. To reach this figure, it's worth remembering that the Federal Lottery collected almost six billion reais in 2008.

And what about capital flight? Dozens of charter flights leave the country every month to take players to Uruguay, Las Vegas, etc., not to mention the passengers on regular flights. It's the country's wealth flying away to provide development and jobs in other countries.

We need to put an end to this hypocrisy and confront the issue head-on. I see the issue here in Florida, where the state is seeking to expand forms of gambling to increase its revenue and generate more jobs.

There is undoubtedly a need for clear legislation to prevent gambling from being used for political bargaining, just as it is necessary to pay close attention to preventing it from being dominated by organized crime.

Another concern is that the state apparatus is prepared to prevent this leisure and entertainment from being converted into money laundering or that the population seeking entertainment is being deceived with faulty equipment.

A good initiative, which is being discussed here in the US, is that casinos should be located in saltwater and on large vessels, thus limiting their uncontrolled expansion.

Finally, without hypocrisy, this could be a solution and not a problem.

(*) Carlo Barbieri is president of the Oxford Group and the Brazil Club – USA, a member of the Board of the Deerfield Chamber of Commerce, a professor at the Entrepreneurship Academy, a member of the Editorial Board of the Boca Raton Tribune, and a correspondent for Banco Hoje Magazine and Mercado Comum Magazine.