Legislation

Japan – ‘Less than 50 per cent chance’ of casino discussion in Japan

By Phil - 14 September 2016

A parliamentary committee meeting in Tokyo on Friday is the last chance casino legalisation will be discussed in Japan for some time.

Sources believe that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe still wants to approve a gaming bill but that if it is not discussed at this meeting it will be put even further on the back burner with it being years before it its brought up for discussion again. The meeting will outline the legislative programme for the extraordinary Diet session, held from late September to late November, before the focus turns to landmark constitutional change at the regular Diet session next year.

Takashi Kiso, Chief Executive of the International Casino Institute in Tokyo, said: “It is kind of a last chance to have this discussion for a while. After that, even though Mr Abe is pro-casino, he is going to start discussing constitutional change and that debate could last forever.”

Jay Defibaugh, an analyst at CLSA, said there was a ‘less than 50 per cent chance that the first stage integrated resorts promotion bill will be passed during the extraordinary Diet session.’

Over 20 localities in Japan showed interest in hosting casino resorts, which would also include hotels, convention facilities, retail, theme parks and entertainment facilities with support particularly strong in Osaka and Yokohama. With time running out for casinos to be put in place in time for the 2020 Olympic Games, and despite predictions they could generate $40bn a year, they could now be sidestepped altogether.

Casino giants such as MGM Resorts, Las Vegas Sands Corp, Wynn Resorts and Caesars Entertainment had been optimistic that the Prime Minister Abe would be able to pave the way to integrated resorts in 2014 and 2015 but discussions failed to make the parliamentary sessions.