Still no go for casino development in Japan

PLANS to open integrated resorts that bring together casinos, hotels and a range of other leisure facilities in Japan have been stalled after a bill to legalise gambling failed to gain sufficient backing in parliament.

Supporters of the proposal had planned to submit it to the Diet before the April 1 start of the new fiscal year, but disagreement within the ruling coalition led to its withdrawal.

Analysts say the withdrawal is a major blow to the gaming sector.

“The operators had set a target of opening the casinos before the Olympics (in Tokyo in 2020), but they needed to have the legislation passed in this session of the Diet,” Hiroshi Okubo, head of research at CBRE, told TTG Asia e-Daily.

“That chance has now gone and it does not look as if they are going to be able to meet that deadline.”

The Odaiba waterfront district of Tokyo, Okinawa and the Mishima area of Osaka have been mooted as development sites. The company behind the Las Vegas Sands casino has even made a mock-up of the planned property on Tokyo Bay.

Casinos are still illegal in Japan, but the central government has for some years been considering amending the relevant laws to promote gambling. The intention is to attract more foreign tourists and to create a new source of tax revenues.

Japan has set a target of 20 million visitors a year by 2020, with prime minister Shinzo Abe even going on record with an ambitious objective of 30 million a year by 2030, the key driver being casinos that would lure gamblers away from Macau and Singapore.

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