Gambling legalized in Japan

japanese-pm-shinzo-abe Japanese lawmakers have paved the way for the legalization of casino’s in the country

The move would pave way for. international gaming firms such as MGM Resorts to enter the market. The approval of the bill was backed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who believes the changes will stimulate tourism and help the country’s flagging economy

A study carried out by the Daiwa research institute suggests that if just 3 casinos opened, they could be looking at an annual profit of over $10 billion. However, legislation on how to regulate the sector is still pending and it will take about 6 years for the casinos to officially be allowed to open.

pachinko2 Polls have shown that around 3 in 5 Japanese are opposed to the legalization of casinos as they think it would lead to an increase in crime as well as foster unhealthy gambling addictions. However, defenders of casinos have observed that Japan already has a gambling culture.Millions of people play pachinko, a Japanese version of pinball, at privately run parlors, in addition to publicly run lotteries and betting facilities for horse, motorboat and bicycle races, .

Although the Japanese government will likely be highly selective in issuing licenses, it looks like all the major gaming companies will be competing for a piece of the Tokyo-market pie.

Gambling legalized in Japan

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