The Japanese legislature DIET agreed to introduce new measures by the end of 2022 to limit online race gambling and to restrict casino access to members of the public with gambling addictions.
The passing of legislation last year to legalise casinos has since sparked a debate around Japan over issues concerning gambling addiction and the placement of the proposed casinos.
Discussions are ongoing with clearly more than just casinos on the minds of legislators. The recent agreement will see a new limited structure put on all online racing gambling by the end of the fiscal year in 2022. The legislation will target limits on bet amount of online and racetrack machines.
The online race betting industry in Japan is also already limited to just horse, motorboat, motorcycle and bicycle.
Japan would stand to gain from the increased tourism, diverse new investments and jobs created by the new proposed casinos.
All new forms of tax revenue are being explored, with Japan looking to host the Olympics as well as bidding for the World Expo.
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party is on one side of the debate, championing the potential tax revenue and tourism, and Buddhist and anti-gambling groups such as Komeito, an opposition party, are fighting for addiction concerns on the other.
Many people in Japan are divided over the issues but a strong social disdain for gambling addictions has assured that restrictions, such as family member’s ability to request a person to be blocked from casinos, were always guaranteed.
Pachinko has recently been reviewed in this light, with more than 900,000 Japanese people reported to have an addiction to the game.
A government study of 10,000 people's gambling disorders is set to be released next month, an will perhaps bring some clarity to the debate and quell people’s concerns with the gambling industry.
