The Japanese government is holding the events to discuss the framework for the country’s nascent casino industry. The goal is to address public concerns about potential risks related to problem gambling and money laundering, according to media reports.
The Osaka session focused on control of problem gambling, the likely design of casino floors and the best location in that city to ensure a casino’s profitability, the Japan Times reported on Saturday.
After December’s enactment of an enabling bill legalising casino resorts at the conceptual level, a second piece of legislation – known as the Integrated Resorts (IR) Implementation Bill – now needs to be approved detailing the specifics: how casinos are administered and regulated; the taxation regime to be applied to them; their location; and the number of licences to be issued.
Earlier this month, Japan’s Office of Integrated Resort Regime Promotion – a body made up of professional civil servants advising the government on the IR Implementation Bill – delivered to the Japanese government a report featuring a set of suggestions on how to regulate the country’s casino industry.
According to the Japan Times, one participant at Friday’s session said the proposals made by the expert panel were insufficient to address a number of social concerns. Another participant noted that by putting limits on the number of times Japanese nationals can enter casinos, could eventually lead people with gambling addiction problems to participate in illegal gambling.
The public hearings will take place until August 29. After Tokyo and Osaka, such sessions will be held in: Hiroshima, Fukuoka, Sendai, Sapporo, Nagoya, Toyama and Takamatsu in Kagawa Prefecture
