A law legalizing casino gambling in Japan officially took effect on Monday, December 26. Although the legislation allows the provision of casino gambling services within the country’s borders, construction of such venues cannot begin before another legislative piece is voted on and comes into effect.
If legislative proceedings go as planned, Japan will likely have first casino/s open doors in 2021. Country lawmakers will now have to pass an implementation bill and it is believed that this will take up to a year. A request for concept and request for proposal processes will then be released and these are, too, likely to take around six months to be completed.
If the promotion bill, as the piece of legislation adopted on Monday has been referred to, legalizes casino gambling in Japan, it does not do much else. This is why the implementation bill will need to be signed into law as it would deal with important matters, including the number, location, and operation of the future casinos.
Analysts and gambling insiders have suggested that Japan’s casino market could initially sustain two large integrated resorts in two key locations (e.g. major metropolitan areas, possibly Tokyo, Osaka, and Yokohama).
Although the Japanese casino bill finally gained the necessary legislative support, word has leaked out that it is not particularly popular with residents. Here it is important to note that the casino legislation has always been supported by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his governing Liberal Democratic Party. According to a poll conducted by Japanese news agency Kyodo News, the top official’s public support has dropped by almost six percentage points after the bill’s implementation.
It has been suggested that residents have been concerned about the effects casino gambling might have, particularly that gambling addiction cases may increase once such venues open doors to visitors.
A separate poll, that one compiled by Japanese national public broadcaster NHK, showed that only 12% of the people interviewed supported the launch of integrated casino resorts in the country. On the other hand, 44% of the interviewees spoke against the recently adopted measure.
To address gambling addiction concerns, legislators have promised to consider the implementation of certain safeguards that would aim at protecting the vulnerable members of population.
It is believed that Japan may turn into a casino gambling powerhouse, with its future gambling venues generating between $20-$40 billion in full-year revenue. The construction of integrated resorts has also been highly anticipated by the country’s tourism industry as properties of this kind are expected to further increase international tourist rates.
