Japan sends IR bill to the Diet for Vote

Japan’s government has finalised the closing piece of legislation required to license the country’s first casinos, after the ruling coalition reached agreement on last week on the terms of the integrated resort (IR) implementation bill following months of political wrangling.

The bill will now be presented to the Diet, Japan’s parliament, for debate. However, its chances of being passed before the end of the current parliamentary term on June 20 are slim.

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe underlined the IR bill’s effect on the tourism sector and predicted that it will gain visitors across the globe. The Prime Minister also highlighted that Japan will take “complete measures to address various concerns including gambling addiction.”

he casino industry was legalised through a statute that came fully into effect in December 2016 and, afterwards, the ruling coalition (The Liberal Democratic and Komeito parties) managed to reach a consensus on the key topics regarding the creation of the casino industry.

The bill sets a nationwide three casino cap, in addition to a fixed tax rate of 30 per cent on GGR generated by casino resorts. It also sets a €45 casino entry fee for locals and limits casino visits to three times a week and 10 times a month.

Even with so little time to pass the IR bill, Nomura Holdings, the Japanese brokerage firm stated that the Diet will likely vote in favor of the Integrated Resorts Implementation Bill in early 2019.

Source: FocusGN