Japan still facing strong opposition

Although the Japanese casino market is near to becoming a reality, opposition still grows.

Japan.- Residents of Japan have shown strong opposition against Integrated Resorts as the project gets closer to final approval by Congress. According to this week’s official poll, 65.1 per cent of Japanese voters claimed to be against casino developments in the country, with only 26.6 per cent of residents voting in favour of the measure.

Casinos in Japan have been approved by Congress for more than a year now, but projects can’t move forward until the government signs the IR Implementation Bill, which is yet to be discussed by national legislators. The bill was supposed to be approved several months ago, but the debates have been constantly delayed until the current session.

Legislators are expected to soon pass the IR Implementation Bill regulating the conditions to participate in the bidding process, operations and financial structure, among other relevant themes. However, different parties have not yet agreed on how best to allow the development of casinos in Japan, arguing about the most controversial issue: whether Japanese residents would be able to enter to casinos (and if they should pay a fee) or not.