On October 27, lawmakers in Osaka, Japan passed an ordinance to address the potential for gambling addiction when the country opens its first integrated resorts (IRs) with casinos.
According to the Jiji Press, the regulations proposed by the Osaka Ishin no Kai party call for a system that “incorporates the voices of gambling addicts and their supporters”; funds a foundation to help prevent problem gambling; and establishes an “expert panel” on the issue.
The proposed Basic Law on Measures Against Gambling Addiction is the first of its kind in Japan. The government under Shinzo Abe first legalized IRs in December 2016. The measure was supported by the late prime minister as a way to boost international tourism.
Initially, Japan was seen as the next “holy grail” of gaming, with estimated revenues projected to rival Macau’s. But the Covid-19 pandemic put a damper on those expectations. Global lockdowns and the impact on gaming around the world sent once-enthusiastic operators into survival mode. Ultimately, just two operators made bids for up to three available IR licenses. If approved, the resorts that once were expected to debut by 2025 or even earlier could now open near the end of the decade.
As reported by GGRAsia, the anti-addiction ordinance could be under discussion through the current session of the assembly, which ends on December 15.
Osaka’s proposed US$7.4 billion IR would be developed on Yumeshima Island in Osaka Bay and operated by MGM Resorts and the Orix Corp. Nagasaki’s plan calls for a US$3.5 billion IR at the site of the Huis ten Bosch theme park in Sasebo City.
At one point, the government was expected to announce the results of the bidding by the end of 2022. But an Osaka MP raised doubts about that timeline when he recently asked the government to approve the bids by “March 2023 at the latest,” lest the Osaka IR “be delayed by one to three years.”
