Japan’s Prime Minister stresses on fair selection of casinos

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has reiterated the need for a fair selection of locations for the country’s first integrated resorts with casino floor.

He termed process of conducting fair, unbiased, and transparent screenings as a crucial step. The locations will be selected during a Friday meeting of the Diet’s House of Representatives Committee.

The Japanese government is currently planning to introduce Integrated Resort Implementation Bill, which would pave the way for the formation of the country’s casino industry after lawmakers approved the legalisation of casino gambling in late 2016. Generally speaking, the Implementation Bill will set out the rules under which integrated resorts with casinos would be operated.

The legislative piece, currently under deliberation in the Diet’s lower chamber, calls for the initial construction of up to three casino resorts in three different locations across Japan. According to analysts, the move could create a $25 billion gaming industry, or the world’s second-biggest casino market. Some of the world’s biggest gaming and hospitality companies have already set sights on Japan and have presented preliminary multi-billion IR plans.

While the Diet is yet to select the preferred locations for the country’s first integrated resorts, some clear favourites have emerged as the potential hosts of the properties. Osaka has been the most popular potential location among the early favourites, with Hokkaido and Nagasaki being some of the other places to have been mentioned in media outlets in relation to the future establishment of casino resorts. The participation of all three in the casino location selection process has been heavily supported by their local governments.

Chiba, a prefecture located just outside Tokyo and home to Disneyland, has too recently gained attention as a local group of small businesses has pointed to its convention centres and the country’s largest airport as well as to the strong resident support as factors that would gain its advantage in the casino location selection process. However, Chiba’s participation in that process has not been endorsed by the local government yet.

It is believed that the Diet’s lower chamber will vote on the bill next week, possibly on June 7. The piece will then have to be reviewed and voted by the House of Councillors, the government’s upper chamber.

The Diet’s regular legislative session is slated to end on June 20, but reports have emerged that lawmakers are considering extending it to the end of June or early July to provide themselves with enough time to pass the legislation.

Source: CasinoNewsDaily