Only a couple of days after Japan’s Diet passed a bill legalizing opening of so-called integrated casino resorts, a Kyodo News poll showed that almost two-thirds of the survey’s respondents opposed the new piece of legislation due to concerns that the gambling expansion could end up seeing an increase in local crime and problem gambling rates.
The poll was conducted over the telephone in the weekend and showed that a total of 64.8% of the participants in the research do not approve of the so-called Integrated Resorts Implementation Bill set to pave the way for opening of casinos, while only 27.6% backed the piece of legislation. It also turned out that even the supporters of the Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Cabinet were not quite sure about the benefits expected to be brought with the addition of integrated resorts to the country. Almost half of the poll’s respondents who supported the ruling coalition – 47.6% – said they were against the casino law, while the majority of the respondents who do not support the Cabinet – 84.9% – also opposing the change.
As previously reported by Casino Guardian, the Government of Prime Minister Abe claims that the new legislation, under which the establishment of casinos at up to three locations as part of larger complexes called integrated resorts is allowed, will help Japan become more attractive to foreign visitors and bring some fresh money to local economies.
However, the opponents of the new Integrated Resorts Implementation Bill said that the parliamentary discussions were not sufficient and questioned the ability of Japan to roll out efficient countermeasures against gambling addiction and possible rise of crime rates.
Japan Rolls Out Casino Gambling to Attract More Visitors
According to the results of the telephone survey, 62.2% of local residents were not satisfied with the response of the Prime Minister’s Cabinet to other problems which required priority, such as the torrential rain which hit the western part of the country earlier in July and killed more than 220 people. In comparison, only 27.5% of the Japanese people said that the Government managed the situation in an appropriate manner.
The overall approval rating for the ruling Cabinet was 43.4%, marking a slight decline from the approval rate of 44.9% which the Government had in June 2018, showed the poll conducted over the weekend. The disapproval rating was estimated at 41.8%.
Currently, Japan has what is called legal public gambling, which includes horse racing and boat racing options. The final vote on casino gambling expansion was held literally at the very end of the Diet session, which was extended by the Government so that a passage of the proposed casino legislation was secured.
As mentioned above, the approval of the bill by the upper chamber, which in this case is the House of Councillors, gives the green light to the establishment of casino venues in up to three locations across the country. The casinos, however, are set to be established only as part of larger complexes that comprise of hotels, entertainment and shopping facilities, conference rooms, etc.
The first integrated casino resort is expected to open in the mid-2020s after the Japanese Government takes into consideration a number of locations in order to choose the most appropriate ones for casinos. Currently, the prefectures of Osaka, Nagasaki and Wakayama were pointed as the most obvious choice for such venues, while Hokkaido having also expressed its willingness to host casinos.
- Author
Daniel Williams
