Casino legalisation takes effect in Japan

The new law that makes casino gambling legal in the Asian country came into effect on Monday.

Japan.- After the House of Councillors of Japan passed the casino bill last week, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe finally pushed it along with related legislation through both chambers of parliament and made official the new Japanese law that legalises casinos in the country.

Abe believes that the gambling industry can boost the economy and that it helps with his plan of making Japan a more tourism-oriented country. Japan Times reported that LDP lawmaker Ryosuke Kozuki said that hosting casinos will play an important role in helping realise the Prime Minister growth strategy of drawing 40 million tourists annually by 2020. They also want to create facilities that combine shopping malls, entertainment facilities and large conference halls.

The current law encourages the government to set legal provisions in order to deal with future problems related to the casino industry. President of the Society Concerned About the Gambling Addiction, Noriko Tanaka, said: “The Diet needs to have a discussion about a robust campaign to prevent gambling addiction. Politicians claim they are concerned about a rise in gambling addicts. But the current bill is insufficient in resolving those problems and needs to be revised. Despite being referred to as ‘a gambling superpower’, Japan is said to be lagging behind other countries by 10 to 30 years in taking action about gambling addiction.”