Japan’s Diet lower chamber passes anti-gambling addiction bill

The House of Representatives, the lower parliamentary chamber of Japanese Diet, has cleared a bill dealing with counter-measures against gambling addiction.  The upper house, called the House of Councillors, will now discuss or vote on the bill.

The bill was jointly formulated by both the parties of Japan’s ruling co-alition and the main opposition party, which points to an easy passage of the bill in the upper house also.

Gambling addiction counter measures had been trailed by lawmakers, investment analysts and commentators as a necessary precursor to the arrival of casino resorts in Japan.

The House of Representatives started last week discussing the Integrated Resorts (IR) Implementation Bill, which sets the broad regulatory framework for the establishment of a casino industry in the country.

Japan’s governing parties expect the IR Implementation Bill to pass both chambers of the Diet before the official ending on June 20 of the current parliamentary session.

The IR Implementation Bill – as submitted to the Diet – proposes an initial cap of three casino resorts nationwide, and a fixed tax rate of 30 per cent on any casino gross gaming revenue (GGR) generated by that country’s proposed gaming resorts. It sets a JPY6000 (US$54) casino entry fee for locals for 24-hour access, and limits casino visits by Japanese to three times a week and 10 times per month in aggregate.

Source: GGRAsia