Japan's Gambling Market has Passed Into the Active Growth Phase

In May 2018, Japan adopted a bill that legalised gambling and laid the foundation for the creation of special integrated casino resorts.

Now, the country is actively changing the corresponding legal acts, training the candidate cities for the creation of casinos, and future employees are being trained as well. Everything is done to ensure that the gambling market in Japan is developing actively and successfully.

The first phase of the project involves the creation of three integrated resorts. And although at the state level, the process of selecting locations has not yet been launched yet, experts are discussing, in which cities the future casino resorts may appear. Among the applicants, there are Osaka, Hokkaido, Wakayama, Nagasaki, and others.

Some experts think that the first complex for gamblers can be opened in five or six years ― in 2024-2025.

Requirements for the Future Casino Resorts

It is interesting that Japan takes a course only on a high level of customer service from the very beginning. It can be confirmed by the statement of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe who believes that the Japanese gambling market will become unprecedented in scale and class of services.

All new complexes will be much larger than any of the entertainment centres, which exist in the country.

In accordance with this course, the government lays down a whole series of demands for future casinos in Japan:

It is planned that conference rooms (for three thousand three hundred people) and showrooms (up to sixty thousand square metres) will be opened in each integrated casino resort.

According to the new standards, advertising of the casino can be placed only in the halls of international air and sea ports. The government will also create a new state casino management commission that will work out in detail the rules of operation.

It will be necessary to pay for being able to enter the gambling zone. The cost of the round-the-clock access to the casino will be six thousand yen (about fifty-four dollars), and the total number of visits to gambling establishments will be limited to three per week or up to ten per month as countermeasures to ludomania and illegal gambling activities.

Prospects for the Japanese Gambling Market

Experts say that Japan has every chance to become one of the leaders of the Asian gambling market and compete with Macau. According to preliminary estimation, the capitalisation of the Japanese segment of the gambling business can reach fifteen billion eight million dollars (for comparison: the Las Vegas market is about eleven billion dollars).

Major operators have already lined up to obtain a license in Japan and a permit for the opening of a casino. Among them, we can name Hard Rock International, Caesars, Las Vegas Sands, MGM, Melco Resorts, and Galaxy Entertainment.

Conclusion

The dynamics of the gaming industry, as demonstrated by the Asian region, has always been rapid. So far, one can only guess how the new rules will affect gambling in Japan but it is already obvious that the interest of the local population and people of other Asian countries will only grow in the coming decade.

It is expected that soon, the Japanese government will take on the regulation of the online gambling business as well.

Gaminator experts are always happy to advise on the laws of different countries, as well as help with the launch and legalization of game projects of any format.