Japan’s casino management commission is set to finally meet for the first time this week, after many changes in schedule and some uncertainty regarding its future.
Japan’s brand new casino industry has been plagued by scandal from the start. In late December, “local law enforcement raided a Tokyo-based company that operates a large number of pachinko arcades. The raid came just days after the arrest of politician Tsukasa Akimoto, who is accused of accepting bribes to push the approval of certain casino licenses.”
Despite the ongoing investigation and the arrests, plans for the meeting are going ahead as expected.
What the Meeting Will Address
Although the commission hasn’t shared in advance what the discussions are going to cover this week, experts believe the talks will focus on establishing some basic rules. At the top of the list are the rules that will govern casino operations in the country. Eventually, the commission will also have to decide on security matters and how to prevent/deal with gambling addiction – a major concern for Japan and one of the reasons it took so long to agree to casino gambling in the country.
While the first meeting is scheduled for this week, the commission is expected to announce its final version of basic policy by the end of the month. As Japan is planning on only granting licenses for the construction of three casino resorts in the first phase, the industry is gearing up for strict policies and a long list of requirements. Even before then, any local government hoping to open a casino resort already has requirements to fulfill: any city hoping to obtain a license will need to first partner up with a private-sector partner company and present a plan to develop their resort casino.
The fight for the licenses is expected to be very tight.
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