Japanese casino entry fee could be higher

The Government of Japan is considering increasing the casino entry fee for residents.

Japan.- Although the Congress has not determined whether to include a casino entry fee for residents yet, the government is already considering an increase to the minimum payments Japanese locals would have to give to participate at gaming activities in the licensed integrated resorts once legislators add the amendment to the bill.

According to the local press, the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe has already given the green light to the increase, as the junior coalition partner of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party – Komeito – considers the fee to be too small. The official casino entry fee proposal will be introduced by March, when the press will finally know what the amount would be.

“A representative of the Liberal Democratic Party commented that the fee’s amount needed to be large enough in order to prevent easy admission to casinos,” explained Casino Guardian. The casino entry fee proposal has received governmental support, and it has now been decided that the initial payment should be set at US$18.6 per player. This fee would only be charged to residents of Japan under a framework discouraging participation in gaming activities.

The casino fee proposal will be added to the Integrated Resorts (IR) Implementation Bill, which is still delayed in the Japanese Congress. So far, legislators have revealed that they are preparing the bill limiting the licences in major cities such as Tokyo and Osaka, but it could also include multiple smaller licenses in other locations. Each major casino could offer 500 table games and 3,000 slot machines, and they’re expected to generate at least US$6 billion annually in revenue.