Japan is getting its first-ever casino. Why is everyone not on board?

Japan has given the nod to build the country’s first casino in the western port city of Osaka. The gambling resort, which has divided the East Asian country, is scheduled to open in 2029.

With the resort, Japan aims to lure domestic and global tourist spending. Prime Minster Fumio Kishida said the casino complex would “become a tourism base that promotes Japan’s charms to the world,” reported The Guardian.

Let’s take a closer look at Japan’s proposed first-ever casino complex and why it has divided the country.

Japan okays plan to build first casino

The 1.8 trillion yen ($13.5 billion) resort will be located on Yumeshima, an artificial island in Osaka Bay, as per Reuters.

Besides the casino, the 5.3 million square-foot complex will include a hotel, conference centre, exhibition facilities, theatre, shopping mall and museum as part of the “integrated resort”, as per media reports.

The Osaka government expects the project to have an annual economic impact worth 1.14 trillion yen and create 15,000 jobs, as per The Guardian.

According to the project document, the resort would aim to generate 520 billion yen of revenue annually, most of it from the gaming business. It is also predicted that the facility will attract 6 million foreigners and 14 million domestic visitors every year, reported Reuters.

In 2018, Japan’s parliament passed an integrated resort (IR) law making casino games such as poker or baccarat legal at officially approved establishments to boost tourism and create jobs, reported Reuters.

Although the project to build casino resorts was proposed years ago, it has only been accepted now. It was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and also a corruption scandal that led to the arrest of a ruling-party lawmaker who was accused of accepting bribes.

The Japanese government’s approval comes after Hirofumi Yoshimura, an opposition Japan Innovation Party politician, who won re-election as Osaka governor on Sunday, supported the plan.

Japan’s tourism and infrastructure minister, Tetsuo Saito, said Osaka’s bid was approved after “sufficient examination from various perspectives”.

Who is behind the project? 

US casino operator MGM Resorts International and local partner Orix Corp won government approval Friday (14 April) to build Japan’s first casino.

As per Reuters, both own a 40 per cent stake in the company established to run the complex.

Local government document shows that another 20 local companies, including West Japan Rail, Kansai Electric Power and Osaka-based Panasonic, hold the remaining 20 per cent of shares. Moreover, MUFG Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp would provide funding of 550 billion yen for the resort, reported Reuters.

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Why has this left Japan divided?

Japan, which is the world’s third-largest economy, is seen as a lucrative market for gambling.

Some analysts believe Japan’s gambling industry has the potential to generate $20 billion a year, say media reports.

The size of the online casino market in Japan is $6.7 billion and is predicted to reach $10.1 billion by 2027, as per the gambling statistics released by GoodLuckMate in October 2022.

Pachinko, a pinball-like game played at 7,600 parlours across the country, makes up for four per cent of Japan’s GDR, Yahoo Finance reported citing GoodLuckMate data.

Japan Productivity Centre’s leisure white paper showed that pachinko contributed 14.6 trillion yen in sales in 2020, as per The Guardian.

Other betting games such as horse, speedboat, motorcycle and keirin bicycle racing also usher in trillions of yen every year.

Japan’s gambling problem has left people divided about the country getting its first casino.

According to a 2021 government survey, there are around 2.8 million people – about 2.2 per cent of Japan’s affluent population of 126 million – who deal with gambling addiction.

GoodLuckMate estimated that 3.2 million Japanese players were affected by a gambling addiction.

As per a Mainichi newspaper poll this month, 45 per cent of the surveyed Osaka residents were in favour of the casino, 38 per cent opposed it and 17 per cent were undecided.

It also found that women and the elderly were more likely to be against the casino, Reuters reported citing the poll.

According to a nationwide poll conducted after the 2018 law permitting the construction of integrated resorts was passed, 64.8 per cent of respondents were against the idea and 27.6 per cent were in favour, reported The Guardian.

Gambling addiction support groups have opposed the Osaka project, expressing “grave concerns”. As per The Guardian, they have referred to the increase in requests for help from youngsters who gamble online and have now become addicted.

How will addiction concerns be addressed?

As per The Guardian report, Japanese citizens will be required to shell out a 6,000 yen fee for every 24 hours they spend in the casino.

Saito said the government will also restrict the number of visits by Japanese high rollers. Family members can also put in a request to get a relative banned from the casinos, the report added.

With inputs from agencies

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