When Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called a snap election in September, many believed that the country’s casino legalization effort was dead for the year. Some analysts even forecast that it would not be before the end of 2018 that a vote on a bill that would set the principles under which the nation’s casino industry would be run would take place.
With Mr. Abe scoring a victory on Sunday, forecasts have changed almost immediately and reports have emerged that discussions on the above-mentioned bill could be renewed during the extraordinary Diet session, which is slated to begin next week.
Research firm Global Market Advisors said earlier this week that Japanese legislators may have enough time to resume talks on the casino regulation bill before the end of the year. Prior to the snap election announcement, hopes were that details and hurdles in relation to the legislative piece would be cleared and it would be passed before the end of 2017.
Japan’s casino legalization push began more than a decade ago. However, political tensions in the nation prevented any significant progress from being made until the end of 2016 when lawmakers finally cleared what was the first stage of a two-stage legalization and regulation process. The first casino bill, also referred to as the Integrated Resort Promotion Bill, generally legalized casino gambling in the country. In other words, the piece allowed the construction of integrated resort properties with casino floors in unspecified location around Japan.
A second bill now needs to be given the nod by the Diet in order for developers to be selected and construction to commence.
What Comes Next for Japan’s Casino Legalization Push?
The second phase of the nation’s casino legalization process involves the passage of a bill that will set out the principles under which the industry will be regulated, will determine how many casinos will be constructed, where they will be located, and who will operate them.
Several major gambling operators have already set offices in the country to search for local partners and to promote their interest in the local casino industry, with some of those being Las Vegas Sands, MGM Resorts International, and Wynn Resorts.
Lawmakers have one important task before voting the Integrated Resort Implementation Bill – to pass a bill promoting the responsible provision of casino gambling to future casino patrons. The responsible gaming bill has gained much support in the Diet and according Global Market Advisors, lawmakers will probably take advantage of that momentum to resume discussions on the piece in the weeks to come and pass it before the end of 2017.
The research firm believes that the passage of that particular bill would trigger one legislative event after another in quick succession. With that said, the second casino bill could be passed before the end of the first quarter of 2018 and the regions where the gambling venues will be built could be revealed sometime in the second quarter of 2018. If there are no further delays, the names of the approved operators could become known in the third quarter of 2018.
