MGM Chief: Casino-Related Crime No Worry for Japan

Sat, Mar 7, 2015

As Japan considers a bill that would legalize casino gaming, some lobbyists and lawmakers are concerned that the introduction of integrated resorts with gaming could lead to an increase in crime. MGM Resorts President Bill Hornbuckle (l.) says it won’t. The first casinos could open by 2020, in time for the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Hornbuckle: Vegas has demonstrably lower crime rate

In the run-up to legal casinos in Japan, MGM Resorts International President Bill Hornbuckle is reassuring lawmakers that there is “no demonstrated relationship” between integrated resorts with gaming and a spike in the crime rate.

At an investor forum in Tokyo last month, Hornbuckle told attendees that the ratio of problem and pathological gaming is the same “in all countries regardless of whether legal gaming is present or not, and … without regard to culture or geography.

According to his presentation, “dozens of surveys” in the past 20 years have shown that about 1 percent to 2 percent of people are have a gambling addiction.

“The presence of casino gaming in Singapore combined with comprehensive education, public awareness and responsible gaming measures confirms that it is possible to significantly mitigate negative outcomes,” he said.

In 2014, Bloomberg News reported that MGM Resorts could invest up to US$10 billion to build a casino resort in Japan. According to GGRAsia, analysts say Japan could become the second largest casino market in Asia by gross gaming revenue after Macau if casinos are legalized by the Japanese parliament, known as the Diet.

Osaka and Yokohama are considered the best locales, according to the Japan Times, but more than 20 municipalities have expressed interest in developing integrated resorts with casino hotels, convention centers, shopping malls, and concert venues. Osaka Governor Ichiro Matsui wants to open a casino in the next five years if possible, in time for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and Yokohama Mayor Fumiko Hayashi has also begun researching the feasibility of an integrated resort.

According to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, Las Vegas has the third lowest rate of major crime among selected major cities, at 37.8 cases per 10,000 people, and the third lowest rate of petty crime at 88.7 cases per 10,000 people. Hornbuckle’s presentation added that in Detroit, the crime rate fell in 2008 and 2009, shortly after the company opened its MGM Grand Detroit.