RacingBetter News
	Tuesday 14th July 2020

What Is The Japanese Casino IR Bill?

As the online casino business continues to flourish the world over, nations in which gambling is restricted are pondering the relaxation of laws in order to reap economic rewards.

Perhaps the most interesting case in this regard is that of Japan. As one of the world’s largest economies, the East Asian nation has long been seen as an innovator on the world economic stage. Yet in recent times the national economy has begun to shrink at an alarming pace.

As a traditionally-minded nation in many respects, Japan continues to outlaw the majority of gambling forms, including both online and brick and mortar casinos.

This could all be set to change wit the current Integrated Resorts (IR) bill, a piece of legislation that may be about to out Japan front and centre of the global boom in gambling. The bill has made plans for a trio of new casino-resorts to go up in locations across the nation as Japan seeks to attract 60 million tourists per year by 2030.

However, many of us are continuing to ask the question; what is the Japanese IR casino bill? In this article, we will seek to answer exactly this whilst also providing commentary on how the passing of the bill and the subsequent construction of three mega-casinos across Japan might impact the national and indeed the international economy.

Japanese IR casino bill: The Basics

In recent times, politicians in Japan have floated the idea of building three Integrated Resorts across the nation. The idea behind building these would be to open Japan up to heightened tourism from across Asia and the world, with the Shinzo Abe government setting an ambitious target of 60 million visitors a year by 2030.

The bill has seen obstacles thrown into its way since first being raised a couple of years ago. Most of the concern stems from conservative politicians who feel that the building of the three resorts would usher in an era of problem gambling in Japan.

Proponents of the bill, however, point to the fact that millions of Japanese already bet at pachinko parlours across the nation. Indeed, many Japanese also use foreign online casinos, with sites such as lennus.com helping players to make informed decisions as to where they play. What’s more, pro-bill politicians have outlined plans to make Japan a regional and global force in the gambling business to rival the likes of Macau and Las Vegas.

At the moment, bids for the construction of an IR are being readied by Hokkaido, Chiba, Tokyo, Yokohama, Nagoya, the prefecture and the city of Osaka, Wakayama Prefecture and Nagasaki Prefecture. The bids will be presented in 2021 before the government committee meets to decide which three are worthy of receiving permission.

How the Japanese IR casino bill could boost the economy

Japan, although a leading world economy, has been stagnating in recent years as nations such as China and India experience serious growth and look set to dominate the Asian economy.

Japan has long relied on innovation in order to create economic prosperity, with the nation a leader in electronics, automobile production and other technology-led fields. If Japan is to keep pace with its regional rivals, the relaxing and eventual legalisation of gambling activity looks all but certain.