Japan looking to relax casino laws

Jamie Hinks
December 14, 2010
4 Comments

japan-casinoThe land of the rising sun could in the future become the land of the Mohegan Sun if reports coming out in the Far East are anything to go by. Well, it’s not Mohegan Sun in particular, but Japan is looking at the option of relaxing gambling laws in relation to casinos in particular to boost their ailing economy.

Currently, Japanese residents have to go to nearby Korea in order to gamble in casinos but Japan has seen the potential gains that can be made. According to The Korea Herald over 47% of the estimated 1.68 million people that flock to Korea’s foreigner-only casinos are Japanese and this will present a significant blow to the Korea’s casino industry.

An end to the gambling laws in Japan would likely see casinos open in Osaka, Tokyo, and Okinawa. It may also see revenue diverted away from the estimated 2,100 illegal casinos that operate in the country, which generate around 1 trillion yen per year.

If these laws are relaxed successfully it could even see the relaxing of online gambling laws at some point in the future – that’s if the Japanese realise the money-making potential that such a move could present. Asia is also widely believed to be the next big growth area that the iGaming industry will see. Therefore, legislation wouldn’t be such a bad idea after all, and they could soon be saying konnichiwa to their own casino industry.

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