Legislation
Japan – Casino bill is in in Japan
By Phil - 9 December 2013
Japanese legislators have no submitted a bill to legalise and regulate casino gaming in the country to parliament.
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party submitted the bill, which could make Japan the world’s second-largest casino market, along with the Japan Restoration Party and Hiroyuki Hosoda, the chairman of a cross-party group of pro-casino lawmakers. LDP’s junior coalition partner New Komeito has already approved the submission.
Politicians now hope to pass the bill in the next Diet session that starts in January with the hope that casinos are up and running in time for when Tokyo hosts the Olympic Games in 2020. Timing is critical. Mr. Hosoda said that once the law is approved, a competitive bidding process to find an operator which could take five years.
