Japan finally rolls the dice on controversial casino law

TOKYO — Japan passed a long-awaited bill to legalize casinos Thursday, Jiji Press reported, opening up a market seen as a potential global gaming powerhouse rivaling Asian titan Macau.

The controversial bill got through parliament in the early hours of Thursday morning despite a last-ditch opposition bid to stall it, after years of delays over worries about gambling addiction and organized crime.

Passage of the bill came on the last day of the current parliamentary session.

More legislation outlining details of socalled integrated resorts — which will feature hotel, retail, convention center and entertainment venues including casinos — is required before any betting parlors can be built.

That makes it unlikely that Japan will have any in place before Tokyo hosts the 2020 Olympics.

But Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his party are rolling the dice on casinos, hoping they will support tourism after the games, and pump some life into the world’s number three economy.

Supporters have said casinos could bring huge investment, with some analysts envisaging a $ 30- billion market, in a challenge to Macau’s once high-rolling tables.

The former Portuguese colony has struggled to recover its footing after coming under pressure from Beijing to diversify away from gambling in 2014 as part of a corruption crackdown by China’s President Xi Jinping.

Japan has long been viewed as a massive gaming market due to its wealthy population, close proximity to China and appetite for other forms of legal gambling, including horse and boat racing.

Pachinko, a slot machine-style game played in thousands of smoky parlors in every corner of Japan, is a huge revenue generator. Winnings can be exchanged off-site for cash, skirting gaming laws.

Osaka, northernmost island Hokkaido, Tokyo and nearby Yokohama have all been cited as possible locations for major resorts. —