The Japanese are known for their addiction to pachinko, as casinos in Japan were not legalized. However, at the end of 2016, a law was passed that approved legal casinos, but integrated into resorts (MICE). Until then, the Japanese addiction to gambling led to a proposal to limit access to these resorts.
Chikako Ikeda, a member of the Liberal Democratic Party’s committee, confirmed that on April 27, 2018, a proposal to limit visits to casinos will be (has been) presented by the ruling Liberal Party along with Komeito.
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What is the purpose of casinos in Japan?
The purpose of official casinos in Japan within Integrated Resorts is to boost tourism and generate revenue. Over the years, Japanese people spend their salaries on pachinko machines and slot machines, which are a kind of casino but do not involve money.
Some pachinko are strongly linked to cheating and even to the Yakuza. Many Japanese play pachinko and manage to exchange their winnings for cash instead of products, right on the pachinko premises.
So the idea of legalizing casinos is obvious; the government can have control over these legalized gambling games. Just as they can have control over lotteries and other gambling games.
Furthermore, the proposal for resorts with casinos makes giant foreign companies invest billions in the country. Will it compete with LVBET Sports Betting?
The proposal to limit casinos
The proposal states that both Japanese and foreigners living in Japan can only visit casinos 3 times a week and 10 times within 28 days. Everything will be recorded through My Number.
Although My Number is an extremely important document, only 10% of the population has issued it, which has left some legislators doubtful about using it in the casino.
They want to limit gambling because research reveals that about 3.2 million Japanese suffer from various financial and psychological issues due to gambling addiction. Not to mention that some exhibit problematic behaviors due to gambling, which can even affect family life.
For a long time, Japanese legislation has been trying to organize the rules for casinos approved at the end of 2016. Things like establishing limits on casino areas within integrated resorts.
They need to organize the guidelines regarding the locations where these gambling games take place. Everything was expected to happen by the end of 2017, but due to political issues involving Shinzo Abe, things had to be postponed.
Could the two scandals involving Shinzo Abe become a threat to the integrated resort projects in Japan?
Other proposals involving casinos in Japan
In addition to limiting the space of casinos and the number of days a Japanese can visit, other projects involving taxes are being discussed. Some want a 30% tax on the gross revenue of gambling, in addition to requiring three different licenses to open a casino.
The project also involves a fee of 6,000 yen (56 dollars) to enter a casino. Reactions to this proposal have been mixed. It is believed that a limit of 3% on the space of resorts for casinos could affect foreign investment in the country.
And you? What do you think of these ideas related to gambling in Japan? Do you think these rules are beneficial for the population to avoid addiction to gambling? Will legalized gambling take the place of pachinko?
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