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Asia Minute: Japan Gambling on Casinos

Wikimedia Commons
Wikimedia Commons

It seems like during every legislative session in Hawai‘i, there’s some discussion of legalized gambling. But Hawai‘i and Utah still remain the only two states in the country to ban any form of gambling. In the Asia Pacific, gambling is a growth industry—and this week another major economy moved a step closer to opening casinos. HPR’s Bill Dorman has more in today’s Asia Minute.

In the early morning hours of Thursday local time, Japan’s lower house of parliament voted to legalize casino gambling.

The upper house had already passed the measure, and it’s got the firm backing of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Even though the latest opinion polls show most Japanese oppose the casinos.

In any event, don’t book a trip to Japan expecting a blackjack option just yet.  Further legislation is needed to regulate the industry.

Estimates are that it’ll probably take at least six years before a casino actually opens in Japan.  That means it won’t make the Tokyo Olympics scheduled for 2020.

Other Asian countries have already placed their bets on the gambling business.  Singapore legalized casinos more than a decade ago. And according to government tax figures, they now they take in about three and a half billion dollars a year in revenue.

One target: Chinese travelers— already part of the record tourism figures Japan is producing this year.

And speaking of international money, U.S. casino operators are likely to make their pitches for business in Japan. Including MGM Resorts, Wynn Resorts, and Las Vegas Sands.

Analysts say a more likely scenario would be a joint venture anchored by a Japanese company.

Bill Dorman has been the news director at Hawaiʻi Public Radio since 2011.
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