Legislation
Japan – Lib Dems approve draft Japanese gaming bill
By Phil - 25 November 2013
Legislators from Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party have now approved a draft bill legalising casino gaming.
A cross-party group of lawmakers led by LDP deputy Secretary General Hiroyuki Hosoda is now preparing to submit the bill to parliament before the end of the current session, which ends on December 6.
Ryosei Akazawa, head of the panel overseeing the approval process, said: “We are now able to move forward. The next part of the process will see the bill proceed to the party’s policy panel for official approval.”
Iwaya Tsutomu, of the ruling Liberal Democratic party who is part of the pro-casino group, believes the 2020 Olympic Games to be held in Tokyo has given politicians a fresh appetite for casino legalisation. “There will be a major world event here, and we should make this a goal in our effort to turn Japan into a tourism power,” he said.
If the casino bill is passed during the next legislative session Japan could open its first casino resorts as early as 2019 but definitely in time for the Olympics.
Takeshi Iwaya, of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, added: “This is the best chance we have ever had for casinos in Japan, and I want to make sure this law passes.”
Union Gaming Group believes Japan could turn into the world’s second-largest casino market with $10bn in annual revenue. A host of international operators have said they would invest heavily in the market if given the chance to do so. Both Galaxy and Wynn have said their investment would be to the tune of $5bn.
Gamal Aziz, Chief Operating Officer of Wynn Resorts Development, pitched the cost of likely investment at over $4bn. “We’ve been watching Japan for 20 years,” he said. “We think Japan could be Wynn’s biggest opportunity but you have to be patient in Japan.”
Officials from Las Vegas Sands have shown designs of what a potential resort could look like on Tokyo’s Odaiba waterfront with one showing three dorsal fins extending from a rippled wave-like rooftop whilst another known as ‘the Spider’ has eight separate domes.
