Gambling legislation has been a widely discussed topic in Japan and it attracted a lot of proponents and opponents. The procedure itself has been subject to several delays. At one point, it seemed like there is a light at the end of the tunnel and Japan will have its gambling market opened.
However, the latest report issued by the Union Gaming Research LLC, claims the opposite.
Regardless of all promises and suggestions, which made Japanese tourists and residents hopeful that they will be allowed to participate in gambling activities within a few years, gambling legislation and foundation of a casino venue will take longer than expected. Actually, the first brick-and-mortar casino on Japanese soil was supposed to be established for the Summer Olympic Games, scheduled to take place in Tokyo in 2020.
Sad as it may seem, members of the Union Gaming Research LLC are absolutely convinced that such a project is not likely to be completed by 2020.
Representatives of the firm, which has issued the above-mentioned report, said that they were not convinced the gambling legislation would bring the desired benefits. According to them, such a move is not to be favorable to Japanese economy and Tokyo and Osaka in particular.
Not to mention that the gambling legislation is supposed to boost the tourism sector but they do not believe gambling activities would be enough for attracting foreigners to Japan.
As a matter of fact, the future casinos were planned to be established in the vicinity of Tokyo and Osaka, which can take pride in being the most frequently visited cities by tourists.
The proposal made the Union Gaming Research representatives believe that the idea for attracting even more tourists to the region was not well thought-out since there are regions, which are in desperate need of having their tourist segment diversified.
Although gambling legislation is currently halted, people familiar with the matter are convinced that sooner or later gambling will be officially permitted on Japanese soil as the legislation procedures have never reached such an advanced stage before.
In addition to the disappointing predictions, the representatives of Union Gaming Research said that the proposed legislation bill that was believed to pass sometime in 2015 is to be rejected.
Nevertheless, that should not discourage those involved in the legislation affairs. Even if the bill does not pass indeed, the location of the future casino as well as the gaming operators should be figured out.
Las Vegas Sands was one of the companies which expressed interest in investing a huge sum of money into the establishment of a Japanese-based casino.
However, Japanese gambling officials might not be willing to provide Las Vegas Sands with permission for operating the venue independently. They will most probably demand the company to cooperate with a Japanese one – a requirement, which puts Japan in danger of losing its most prominent casino investor.
