Japan moves forward with gaming law

The casino bill obtained yesterday another approval to be treated by the Senate.

Japan.- Local media reported an imminent legalisation of casino industry in Japan, as the Lower House of Parliament passed the bill on Tuesday afternoon. The casino project will now be debated in the Upper House, hopefully before the parliament session ends next week. Oppositors to the bill expressed that casinos would only boost American development in the country’s industry.

MGM Resorts, Hard Rock International and Sands Corp. already made public their interests in investing in the Asian market. Furthermore, after the news, Jan Jones Blackhurst, member of Las Vegas-based Caesars Entertainment, commented to The Wall Street Journal: “We’re very encouraged with the progress. We think the legalisation of [casino resorts] would be excellent for job creation and growth of tourism, and we would be very interested in being part of the process if it moves forward.”

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also expressed his agreement with legalisation, as he considers it would help the developing of tourism activity. If the casino bill is approved next week, Japanese regulators would have to set a further project to legislate the licensing process and industry’s conditions of operations.

Once the complete bill is introduced, the Parliament would have to discuss the project and then approved the official legalisation. It is estimated that Japanese casinos would start operating by 2020 to 2023, after the Summer Olympics in Tokyo.