Backlash sparked by epic flooding
Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, and Natsuo Yamaguchi, his counterpart in the LDP’s coalition partner, the Buddhist-influenced Komeito, have reaffirmed their commitment to passing the controversial Integrated Resorts bill in the current session of parliament.
To the outrage of casino opponents, the Diet session was extended by more than a month—until July 22—to facilitate a vote by the Upper House. The bill passed the Lower House on June 19.
The Basic Bill on Gambling Addiction Countermeasures—widely seen as a precondition to passage of the Implementation Bill—passed July 8.
Debate on legal casinos in Japan continued last week, as the nation grappled with floods and mudslides caused by torrential rains on the western side of the country. As of Friday, the death toll had reached more than 200, most in Hiroshima and Okayama prefectures, according to the Kyodo News agency, and more than 75,000 first responders had been dispatched to find survivors.
In a note to GGRAsia, analyst Grant Govertsen of Union Gaming Asia Securities observed that “a natural disaster such as this likely introduces a degree of risk to the bill’s passage that hadn’t previously been contemplated.”
Govertsen added, “The fact that the problem gaming bill was passed does suggest that the legislature still has the appetite to move forward with the IR Implementation Bill within the previously expected timeline.”
Abe canceled a European trip in light of the flooding, but critics of the casino bill took potshots at Minister for Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism Keiichi Ishii who continued to take part in the debates rather than focusing on the disaster. In fact, Shinkun Haku of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan asked which Ishii considered more important, “gambling or human life?”
The original casino bill passed in December 2016, paving the way for three integrated resorts in the country. Analysts believe there could be two in large metro areas and one in a regional location. If the industry proves successful, more IRs could be approved seven years after the first one opens. Global casino operators including MGM Resorts International, Las Vegas Sands Corp., Wynn Resorts, Melco Resort & Entertainment, Genting, Mohegan Gaming and others are waiting for the legislation to become law, so they can start planning their bids in earnest.
Key measures in the IR bill include the 30 percent tax rate on gross gaming revenue; a limit on gaming area to 3 percent of a resort’s total square footage; an entry levy of JPY6,000 (US$53) for Japanese citizens and residents wishing to patronize casinos; and weekly and monthly limits on visits by locals.
Concerns about problem gambling have been central to the discussions; official data show that some 3.2 million people in Japan have had gambling problems in the past, and there may be about 700,000 problem gamblers in the country now. In surveys on casinos, about 65 percent or more of citizens have come out against commercial casinos.
If the Implementation Bill passes in the current session, industry executives expect the first licenses to be issued by 2020, with the first resorts to open for operation in circa 2025.
According to CDC Gaming Reports, to prosper in Japan, the IR industry “will need to quickly prove itself to be about more than investment, profits, and employment, but also an indispensable partner for Japanese social progress.”
