Japan’s Integrated Resorts (IR) Implementation Act, pivotal in the country’s long road towards a licensed casino industry, took effect Monday, July 19, according to a resolution of the national cabinet cited by GGRAsia.
The news outlet reported that the enforcement regulations of the Japan Casino Regulatory Commission will also be finalized and take effect the same day.
The rules set the terms for casino license procedures and background checks; authorization of major shareholders; verification of casino employees; authorized casino games and rules; gross gaming revenue calculation; internal controls for casino operations; and the size of gaming areas, and their structural and technical standards.
Up to three IRs were first approved by the Japanese parliament in December 2016. Since then, suitors have come and gone. A number of global operators bowed out of the bidding due to the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as what they perceived as too-strict policies on the part of the government.
Gaming expert Toru Mihara told GGRAsia the regulations will be “sufficiently stringent” to ensure the “integrity and safety” of casino operations.
Local governments interested in hosting a large-scale casino complex are in the process of selecting operating consortiums. The first IRs are not expected to open until 2026 at the earliest.
In related news, the Yokohama branch of Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has decided against supporting former chairman of the National Public Safety Commission, Hachiro Okonogi, in the August mayoral election. Okonogi, who headed the Casino Regulatory Commission before running for mayor, has said that he’ll “withdraw” the Yokohama IR bid if he’s elected.
Other would-be candidates include current mayor Fumiko Hayashi, who supports an IR; former Yokohama City University professor Takeharu Yamanaka; Yokohama City Council member Masataka Ota; animal activist Akiko Fujimura; Deputy Cabinet Minister Mineyuki Fukuda; fisheries wholesaler president Yoshikazu Tsubokura; former prosecutor and attorney Nobuo Gohara; and former Nagano governor and writer Yasuo Tanaka. Shigefumi Matsuzawa, a former prefectural governor of and a member of the House of Councilors, also may run.
Most of the candidates oppose an IR in Yokohama, which will choose between Genting Singapore and Melco Resorts to develop and operate the casino complex.
