Japan’s government is preparing new legislation that will require gambling operators to take greater efforts to mitigate the potential harms of gambling addiction.
Japanese legislators approved their highly controversial Integrated Resorts Promotion bill in December, despite the efforts of opposition political parties and public opinion polls reflecting concerns that relaxing the country’s ban on casino gambling will exacerbate problem gambling behavior.
Despite minimal legal gambling options, government studies show an estimated 5% of Japan’s adult population struggles with some form of gambling addiction. As a result, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party plans to create a basic law detailing methods gambling operators can employ to reduce problem gambling behavior.
According to the Japan Times, the new legislation will offer guidelines for municipal governments and gambling operators – including the country’s ubiquitous pachinko halls – such as allowing families to apply for bans on their relatives patronizing gambling venues, similar to programs available in Singapore. The measures could also include new restrictions on online horse betting, one of the few forms of wagering currently allowed in the country.
With the IR bill passed, Japan has one year in which to craft followup legislation spelling out the nuts and bolts of casino regulation, including how many casino licenses will be awarded and the criteria for which operators will win those licenses. The competition for these IR licenses will be fierce, and rarely does a week go by without a casino operator expressing its eagerness to set up shop in Japan.
However, Macau casino operator SJM Holdings has apparently ruled itself out of the running, despite having once boasted that it could “bring technical know-how” to any casino tie-up with a local Japanese partner.
This weekend, SJM exec director Angela Leong On Kei said her company “have not considered [Japan] yet.” Speaking to Macau public broadcaster TDM, Leong said SJM’s full focus was on its $4b in-development Grand Lisboa Palace project, which will be SJM’s first property in Macau’s Cotai district, and “we need to do well” on that project before taking on any other distractions.
GGRAsia quoted Leong saying she doubted Japan’s first IR would open its doors until 2020 or 2022 at the earliest, while SJM hopes to open the Grand Lisboa Palace “by the end of 2017 or early 2018.” Leong said SJM “have to complete our tasks at hand well at the moment.”
