Will bill pass in this session?
Lawmakers in Japan’s parliament officially opened discussion of the country’s Integrated Resort Implementation Bill on Tuesday, May 22. It’s the second piece of casino legislation, after an enabling bill that passed in December 2016, that will establish the country’s first-ever integrated resorts.
The bill was first submitted to the Diet on April 27 and went before the lower house last week. After moving though the lower chamber, the bill will move to the House of Councillors for further discussion and voting.
The government of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said it expects the IR Implementation Bill to pass during the current session, which continues through June 20. According to GGRAsia, the Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, the Komeito, say they may jointly extend the current session by “around a week” to make sure that the bill passes both houses of the Diet.
The IR Implementation Bill proposes three casino resorts to start, which will pay a fixed tax rate of 30 percent on gross gaming revenues.
Abe is a leading proponent of casino resorts as a way to propel tourism in the country, and has assured the populace that sufficient safeguards will help curb compulsive gambling. These include a locals-only entry fee of JPY6,000 (US$54), which gives them 24 hours of access to the gaming hall. The bill further limits casino visits by Japanese to three times a week or a total of 10 times per month.
But gaming industry researcher Kahlil Philander said there is “no peer-reviewed empirical research” that such limitations will deter problem gamblers.
In a 2017 paper on the subject, Philander wrote, “Policymakers and operators would appear to be better served to focus on responsible gambling tools with strong evidence of effectiveness and to develop responsible gambling programs in areas with emerging evidence, such as positive play.”
Philander added that entry fees could lead to “unintended consequences”—like binge gambling, in which “consumers seek to maximize their allotted time in the venue.”
Passage of the casino bill would be a welcome win for the prime minister, who has been embroiled in scandal about an alleged shady land sale linked to his wife, Akie. Just as the parliament tacked the bill, Asia Gaming Brief reported, documents released by a prefectural governor “proved quite clearly that the prime minister has been lying about his role” in the scandal. Abe continues to deny the allegations, but as AGB reported, the first day of deliberations about the IR bill was devoted to debate about the prime minister’s integrity.
Meanwhile, in an interview with the Nikkei Asian Review, billionaire Lawrence Ho disclosed that he unloaded his assets in Russia’s Primorye casino zone last year out of concern it would inhibit his chances to win one of the first three Japan casino licenses.
“I did not want to do anything that would jeopardize how Japanese regulators see my other activities,” Ho told Nikkei, referring to the international sanctions against Russia and the dispute over the Kuril Islands. “I would love to go back one day, assuming Russia is not enemies with the country that I want to be in, if things are more transparent and if they operate more internationally.”
Others expected to be in the running are MGM Resorts International, Hard Rock International, the Las Vegas Sands Corp., Wynn Resorts, Genting, SJM, Galaxy Entertainment Group and leading Macau junket operator Suncity, which has begun expanding outside junket promotion to become a casino operator. Suncity has diversified its business model by buying large stakes in casinos in countries like Vietnam.
Despite Wynn Resorts’ recent troubles in the United States—founder and gaming legend Steve Wynn resigned in February after allegations of sexual harassment—gaming law scholar Jorge Godinho said that matter should not have a material effect on Wynn’s concession in Macau or his former company’s chances at a Japan casino license.
“Does this case have implications for Macau? If nothing important happens on the U.S. side, then I would say that nothing will also happen on our side.”
