Published
Land-BasedCasinoLegal & Regulatory

Japan casino bill clears upper house

A co

japangov
ntentious bill to legalise casinos in Japan has, despite fierce opposition from Japan’s Democratic Party, passed through a key parliamentary panel, the Cabinet Affairs Committee, today.

Shoji Namba, Democratic Party legislator and Chairman of the committee, has exercised his considerable influence on the timing of votes on bills, and complicated the ruling party’s path to passing the bill, but ultimately Namba was unable to prevent the bill’s approval.

Gaining the panel’s approval has all but ensured the bill’s enactment into law, creating an environment for high-stakes gambling to enter the world’s third-biggest economy.

The bill brushed off concerns from all opposition, including junior coalition government party Komeito, who challenged the legislation over issues of gambling addiction and criminal activity.

Upper house committee lawmakers approved the bill after having similar legislation fail when presented by previous parliaments.

Foreign and domestic companies, from MGM Resorts International to game machine supplier Sega Sammy Holdings Inc could benefit from legalised casinos in Japan. Brokerage CLSA estimates it could be worth up to $40b a year.

Shinzo Abe’s coalition government’s strong majority in the upper house almost guarantees the bill’s approval on Wednesday the last day of this National Diet session.


Asia News Sponsor
Premium+ Connections
 
Premium

PIN-UP Partners

 
Premium

Imagine Live

 
Premium

Digitain

 
Premium

1xBet Partners

 
Premium

RISK

 
Premium

Galaxsys

 
Premium

Revsharks

 
Premium

GammaStack

 
Premium

Lynon

 
Premium

Sport Generate

 
Premium Connections
Consultancy

SCCG Management

Executive Profiles
Zeal Network SE

Stefan Tweraser

VIP Play

Les Ottolenghi

Scientific Games

Keshav Pitani

Social & App

Spribe CEO exclusive: Simplicity is the foundation

Spribe CEO David Natroshvili speaks to Gambling Insider abou...

Redefining iGaming: A history of crash games

Crash games is a growing vertical that has taken gambling by...

A certain something: What makes crash games special?

Crash games. They’re simple, they’re easy to learn and,...

Smarter innovation to shape the future

Spribe CCO Giorgi Tsutskiridze discusses the past, present a...

Facing Facts: The corner of quarterly contemplation

With Q1 reports out across the industry, Gambling Insider co...

Taking Stock: A guide to key stock prices across the industry

Gambling Insider tracks prices from some of the industry’s...

15 years of Gambling Insider: From the Founders

Over the last 15 years, Gambling Insider magazine has interv...

15 years of Gambling Insider: The Awards over time

Global Gaming Awards Event Manager Mariya Savova gives us he...