Proponents of the bill that would legalize casinos in Japan decided to postpone its submission to the country’s legislature, due to the fact that some members of the governing coalition are not particularly keen on such an expansion of the gambling industry.
Last week, lawmakers said that they would present the bill for consideration by March 31, the end of the fiscal year in Japan.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is among the proponents of the controversial proposal. He even included the potential establishment of casinos on the territory of the country in his program for economic growth.
If Japan allows the construction of the so-called integrated resorts with gambling venues, these will annually generate $40 billion, according to brokerage firm CLSA.
There are, however, lawmakers who strongly disapprove of the casino bill. They have expressed concerns that the introduction of venues of this kind in the country might lead to an increase in the number of gambling addicts.
Takeshi Iwaya, one of the proponents of the bill and member of the governing Liberal Democratic Party, explained that they are planning to resubmit it as soon as possible. Yet, he pointed out that all coalition partners need to be “on the same page”.
According to local media, the proposal will be filed in the first days of April.
The bill was submitted in a previous legislative session of the Japanese Diet, but it failed to be passed into law, as it met strong opposition. In addition, lawmakers were more concerned with other legislative matters. Given the current circumstances, it has really slight chances to be enacted by June 24, when this year’s session is set to end.
According to people with knowledge of the matter, the Diet might extend its session until August, in order to review priority legislation proposals related to defence and security. If, however, no such extension is granted, the casino bill might be discussed at an extraordinary parliamentary session, which is likely to start sometime in the fall.
Proponents of the legislation hope that integrated casino resorts will be completed before the beginning of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. This is why they have been considering the possibility of submitting it to a certain parliamentary committee, in order to speed up its passage.
It was announced in February that Osaka and Yokohama might become the first Japanese cities with integrated casino resorts. City officials are currently reviewing the positive and negative effects such major ventures might have on residents and local economy.
