Innovate Gaming Review 2013/14 Edition 1 | Page 22

INNOVATE GAMING | MARKETS - ASIA INNOVATE GAMING | MARKETS - ASIA Japan Myanmar (aka Burma) Talk about opening casinos in Japan has been on the table for years, with huge implications due to a close proximity to China, wealthy population and proven appetite for gambling activities such as horseracing and pachinko. A government change in December 2012 has brought leaders on board to make a substantive move towards legalising gambling before the end of the year. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has re-taken leadership of the reigning Liberal Democratic Party, following a string of Prime Ministers, none of whom retained office for more than one year. The Party, now stable and in control of both houses of the Diet, has authority to pass casino legislation. Abe clearly recognises casinos as a credible remedy to revive the country’s stagnant economy and use gaming as a potential anchor to attract foreign investment. Lawmakers are currently working on a bill that will be submitted to Parliament later this year. It would pave the way for big name operators to build casinos across the country of 128 million inhabitants and where tourism has continued to thrive since the 2011 earthquake, subsequent tsunami and nuclear crisis devastated the country. The government acknowledges sustained tourism growth depends on improved economic conditions and promoting Japan as a tourist destination. Advocates have been pushing gaming’s potential economic benefits for the better part of a decade however, divergent political agendas together with the government’s history of instability have proved major obstacles. This time around, the backing of Abe and new political leadership suggests that legislative momentum is building towards introduction of authorising a bill. “Should casino legislation pass, the implications are huge,” brokerage CLSA wrote in a report. “Japan could become one of the largest gaming jurisdictions in the world, surpassed perhaps only by Macau. Casinos, as often the case, would provide politicians with the path of least resistance to raise new funds.” According to the Japan Productivity Centre, gambling is already worth $322bn a year in the country, where events such as motorboats and horseracing are big draws, and pachinko parlours on every street corner are congested with punters. A 2009 Osaka University study projects