Today, the Lower House of the Japanese Parliament passed the Integrated Resorts Implementation Bill aimed at setting up the local casino industry. Now, the proposed measure heads to the upper chamber for consideration and voting, with the local Government hoping to get it passed in the ongoing Diet session.
Still, the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic and Komeito parties is considering the possible extension of the current parliamentary session to make sure the bill is finally approved. The ongoing Diet session is set to close on June 20th. Last Friday, the bill was passed by majority vote in the lower house committee in spite of the fact that opposition parties insisted that further discussions were necessary.
The proposed bill sets practical measures to introduce integrated resorts and casino venues, along with some measures aimed at addressing the concerns of local residents that the casino gambling expansion would end up with increased rates of problem gambling. As previously reported by Casino Guardian, the Government has shared its hopes that so-called integrated casino resorts would attract more visitors to the country, which on the other hand would bring fresh money to the local economy.
The Government of Japan has also shared its hopes that if the long-discussed casino bill is finally passed during the current session, the first integrated casino resorts would likely be brought into operation in the mid-2020s.
Japan Casino Bill Hoped to Attract More Tourists
As mentioned above, the Japanese Government has shared its hopes that opening the casino market would boost the country’s tourism sector. However, the opposition parties have shared their concerns that the bill could lead not only to increase gambling participation rates but also to an increase in the number of gambling addicts in Japan.
Despite the ban on casino gambling was lifted a couple of years earlier, the bill needs to get the green light from local legislators to be actually turned into law. The Japanese Government wants to introduce casinos through the establishment of so-called integrated resorts, which are larger complexes and include hotels, conference halls, as well as shopping, dining and entertainment facilities. As mentioned above, the resorts are hoped that they would boost the region’s economic growth by attracting more foreign visitors.
Apart from the permission to establish casino venues as part of such integrated resorts, the bill also unveils a number of measures to prevent the increase of problem gambling rates. The ruling coalition has reached a compromise for three integrated resorts location, meaning that at first only three casinos will be established in Japan. In addition, local residents will have to pay an entry fee worth ¥6,000, not to mention that citizens of Japan will be permitted to enter a casino no more than three times weekly, and ten times monthly. Foreign visitors will be able to enter casinos free of charge.
- Author
Daniel Williams
