Japan to slap 30% tax on casinos

The Japanese government is all set to impose a 30 per cent tax for casino resorts in the country’s cities.

The proposal put forward by the ruling coalition of Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito party on matters relating to integrated resorts in Japan suggests 30 per cent tax for casino operations. The proposals also limit the number of legal venues a casino can operate in the country to three. That basically means that a casino can be located in three different cities maximum, the local press reports. Furthermore, the proposals also suggest that the existing legislation could be reviewed after the first seven years of its coming into force.

The Integrated Resorts (IR) Implementation Bill is yet to be approved, but the Japanese government continues to look into the different requirements for operators and gamblers. The latest proposition involves demanding that companies report on customers who exchanged chips and cash worth €7,700 (¥1 million) or more as part of anti-money laundering measures.

All propositions are still to be debated at the Japanese Congress, but it’s still unclear when that will happen and – according to experts – Japan casinos may not open until 2026. Meanwhile, residents of Japan have shown strong opposition against integrated resorts as the project gets closer to final approval by Congress. An official poll revealed that 65.1 per cent of Japanese voters claimed to be against casino developments in the country, with only 26.6 per cent of residents voting in favour of the measure.