Japan casino law likely to legalize local gambling

Sunday, 13 Oct, 2014 0

Japan’s draft law which will legalize the concept of resort casinos will not ban locals from gaming, according to a Reuters report citing a unnamed ‘parliamentary source.’

Earlier reports pointed to a possible watering-down of the Integrated Resorts Promotion Bill to ban Japanese citizens from gambling to appease opposition parties.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government is focusing on gambling to boost tourism and create jobs.

Japan, is a nation of 128 million, but welcomed just 10.4 million inbound tourists last year according to the Japan National Tourism Organization.

This contrasts markedly with tiny Macau -Asia’s gambling Mecca – which attracted 29.3 million last year according to official data.

Industry consultants Union Gaming Research, based in Macau, said a foreigner-only casino industry in Japan would be ‘a non-starter’ for global casino companies keen to invest heavily in the country.

Foreign gaming operators have said in the past they would be willing to invest as much as $10 billion in a casino resort, but have said time is running out in order to have a resort up and running before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics begin.

If that were to be the case, it would be a "tremendous missed opportunity," said Jim Murren, chief executive of MGM Resorts International earlier this year.

TravelMole Editorial Team

Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.

Swallows and Amazons is a Brazilian adventure tour company run by the husband and wife team of Tania and Mark...

Celebrating its 30-year anniversary in 2022, Regent Seven Seas Cruises® offers guests An Unrivaled Experience® with every luxury included. Carrying...

Traveltek is the world-leading provider of online solutions for the travel trade, from consumer-facing websites to call centre applications. We...

This is Jersey. An island shaped by the sea where some of the most astonishing tides in the world circle...

Why Avalon Waterways: Happiness flows on an Avalon river cruise. From Asia to South America and Europe to the Nile,...

IHG Hotels & Resorts: Redefining Hospitality Excellence IHG Hotels & Resorts is a globally renowned hospitality company that stands at...

We understand the importance of personal touch We do things a bit differently at Eventsquid. We know that we could...

We work with reliable data providers with global coverage, that guarantee data representativeness as well as compliance with International Personal...

Nium was founded on the mission to build the global payments infrastructure of tomorrow, today. With the onset of the on-demand...

Offering the most powerful portfolio in the industry, our 30 brands and 8,000+ properties across 139 countries and territories give...

Travel specialists founded the company in 1999 as AC Tours. Since then we have grown and expanded to incorporate four...

ECOMMPAY is an international payment service provider and direct bank card acquirer, engineering bespoke payment solutions for clients worldwide. Our...