Japan sets new regulations

Japanese residents that participate in gaming offerings must be aged 20 and above.

Japan.- Legislators have determined that residents participating in casino activities must be aged 20 and above. The resolution was issued this week, as authorities were reviewing further amendments for the Civil Code, including lowering the age limit of adulthood from 20 to 18 years old.

However, casino services would still be regulated under previous age limit only allowing residents aged 20 years old and above, as reported by AGBrief. Authorities have revealed several conditions of the IR Implementation Bill, which would regulate the upcoming casino sector in Japan. As the government legalised gaming industry last year, officials keep debating further proposals to limit casino expansion and reduce problem gambling.

According to The Mainichi, poker and sports betting sectors could also be banned in new Japanese integrated resorts. Casino regulation would only allow gaming options that “businesses can manage in a fair manner, can only be played within IRs and those in which participants can win or lose only by chance,” as the article describes.

The casino industry in Japan is soon to get finally approved and companies from all over the world are ready to enter the local business. Local experts have estimated that the upcoming Japanese casino industry will generate gross gaming revenue (GGR) of US$7 billion per year if it includes two major integrated resorts.