Legislation
Japan – Japan gaming bill could be presented in December
By Phil - 25 October 2013
A formal gaming bill could be presented to the Japanese parliament before the end of the year in the Diet session, which ends December 6, 2013.
Legislators have now begun drafting the bill with the aim to see casinos in operation for the Tokyo 202 Olympic Games. One new aspect that has been revealed is that casinos could be set up in both rural and urban areas. Previously it was presumed that only city licenses would be allowed. The draft document didn’t specify where casinos might be built, though Tokyo and Osaka have been floated as options in the past.
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said: “There are great hopes as regards casinos from the point of view of building up tourism. At the same time the whole government must consider whether this is possible from the standpoint of crime prevention and maintaining order.”
Alliance Research said if the casino bill was approved during the next legislative session, Japan could open its first casino resort as early as 2019.
