Lower House passes IR bill in Japan

The IR Implementation Bill has been sent to the upper house as the government extended the Diet session past the June 20th deadline.

Japan.- Casino regulation is getting closer in Japan as the lower house passed the Integrated Resorts (IR) Implementation Bill on Tuesday and sent it to the upper house for further approval. In order to get it turned into Law, the government decided to extend the current Diet session past Wednesday – when it was scheduled to end – but it is set to face tough opposition in the House of Councilors.

Should the bill get past the objections from the opposition, casinos are likely to be opened in the mid-2020s with some regulations regarding location, smoking inside venues and other topics. Location-wise, facilities will be allowed to open in up to three locations in the country. Furthermore, Japanese locals will be allowed to enter casinos only three times a week or ten times a month and will be charged US$54 while foreigners won’t have any restrictions or entrance fees.

The opposition wanted to discuss the bill at the committee for at least 50 hours, instead of the 18 hours it actually took to send the bill to the lower house. However, the government is in a rush to get the bill pass as it will extend the current session for – at least – an extra 20 days to see it enacted by mid-July and get to work with the industry.