Japan casino law likely to legalize local gambling
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.
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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.
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