Legislation making casino gambling legal in Japan came officially into effect on December 26, although investment analysts have said that it could be beyond the year 2021 before the first Japanese casino resort opens.
"To realise clean casinos, we will introduce regulations at the world’s highest standards and develop a system to properly enforce them,” Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was quoted as saying at the first meeting of the government’s task force, reported Jiji Press. "Through those measures, we aim to create attractive Japanese-style integrated resorts,” Abe added.
Officials from various government agencies have come together to work on the matter. The task force will also invite lawyers, accountants, economists and experts in other fields to discuss licensing and operating issues, as well as financial and tax issues, said Jiji Press.
The Japanese government plans to submit the bill during a possible extraordinary session of the parliament this autumn.
Some local governments in Japan are already
moving forward with their own plans in the hope of securing one of the first
casino resorts to be granted after the implementation law is passed. Osaka
Prefecture established on Monday a new bureau tasked with attracting
prospective developers as well as formulating policies to deal with problem
gamblers, reported the Japan Times newspaper.
Source: GMB / GGR Asia
