According to the proposal of the Japanese authorities, the gambling legalization in the country was supposed to take effect really soon. However, the latest information released, disapproves of that statement. The legalization process, will, by all means, we delayed again for an indefinite period of time.
Some of the biggest gambling providers, that have gained popularity round the globe, have expressed their willingness to conquer the Japanese gambling market. Presumably, they realize that building a casino in a country where the gambling industry is about to develop, can turn into a profitable investment that brings millions dollars revenue.
MGM Resorts, Las Vegas Sands, Genting Singapore and some other corporations are impatiently waiting for the legislation bill to pass so they can start planning their casino projects on Japanese soil.
According to the official announcement, the gambling regulators were not given enough time to consider all the advantages and disadvantages of the gambling legislation so, contrary to all expectations, the proposal didn’t pass during this session.
Keiichi Ishii made an announcement for a respected media and said that the authorities found it difficult to make a decision so they postponed the discussions and the proposal won’t pass until the end of November, when the current session ends.
Abe’s coalition supports the establishment of a casino in Japan and the members even wanted the first project completed in six years – just on time for the Olympics. However, two ministers just resigned, which can possibly make the gambling legislation procedure even more complicated.
Abe was the initiator of legalizing the gambling activities in Macau and Singapore with the aim of boosting the local economy and increasing the revenue.
The so-called “integrated resort” proposal has been discussed during the previous sessions and now, it has all the chances to pass next year. There is one more important aspect to be taken into consideration though – namely the bill, concerning the national budget affairs, which will also be discussed during the 2015 session.
In order to pass, the bill needs the support of Komeito because Abe doesn’t have majority in the Upper House. However, the members of Komeito are in two minds about supporting the bill. Some of them consider it to pose various risks to the society.
Abe’s members claim that building a casino in Japan would improve the tourism sector but according to some gaming providers the casinos are not likely to make a profit provided that the Japanese residents will be restricted from using the gambling services available. The authorities promised to refine the tough law and eventually establish an entrance fee or another restriction that somehow limits the Japanese residents on using gambling facilities too much but the total ban will most probably be removed in 2015.
