Japan Government Jumps Right into Regulation Adaptation
Published January 14, 2017 by Lee R
Gambling in Japan has been legalised, but no licences will be issued until the government deems the regulation model safe.
Now that Japan has passed a regulation model, the government is preparing to tackle the task of preventing gambling addiction as the first step towards actual implementation.
State of the Problem
At this point, with relatively few legal gambling options, government research estimates that 5% of Japan’s adult population suffers from gambling addiction.
Managing Addiction
According to sources, Japan’s Abe government is drafting a bill for submission to the Japanese Diet calling for gambling service operators and municipal governments to outline respective addiction prevention strategies.
Kicking it Off
The Abe’s version of addiction prevention law is set to cover not only casinos but also existing gambling services including pachinko and horse racing. The submission of said bill is expected at the first Diet session January 20th.
Possible Measures
Examples of specific possible measures include prohibiting suspected addicts of access to gambling venues, with suspected addicts identified according to the request of their families; or similar restrictions adapted to online betting for horse races.
Suggestions from Every Party
Individual Diet political parties considering drafting further addiction prevention measures include the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, coalition partner Komeito, and the leading opposition Democratic Party. The successful integration of guidelines from opposing political parties into one unified code would be nothing short of a major breakthrough for Japanese governance.
Perfecting Licensing Criteria
The Japanese government has a current timetable of one year from to draft full follow up legislation determining the criteria and amount of casino licenses to be awarded in a regulated market that would be worth an estimated $20 billion upon launch.
Long Wait Ahead
With the current wait time from the December 26th passage of casino gambling in integrated hotel and entertainment resorts IRs at five years, resolving known barriers to implementation can only shorten the process--with addiction at the top of the list.
All in all...
It is ultimately encouraging to see the Japanese government get straight to work ironing out identified barriers to implementation. The optimal outcome would ultimately be a reduction in what seems like an interminable wait time now that gambling has been legalised.
As for now, the sooner the process begins, the sooner it can be completed.
