Prior to the weekend, the lower parliamentary chamber of Japan’s National Diet, the House of Representatives, passed an anti-gambling addiction bill. The measure was then sent to the House of Councillors, the upper house of the Diet, for further review and to be voted on, according to GGRAsia citing its Japan correspondent.
Deemed a necessary precursor to the emergence of integrated resorts in Japan, the bill was reportedly jointly submitted to the Diet earlier this month by the parliamentary membership of the country’s two governing parties, the opposition Japan Restoration Party and Prime Minister Shinzō Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and coalition partner, Komeito.
Last week the House of Representatives began reviewing the Integrated Resorts (IR) Implementation Bill, which outlines the regulatory framework for Japan casinos, paving the way for the creation of a trio of integrated resorts and a sole regional site. As currently written the IR Implementation Bill moreover proposes a 30% fixed tax rate on any of the proposed gaming resort’s gross gaming revenues (GGR) along with a casino entry fee for locals of JPY6,000 (US$55) for 24-hour access and restricts Japanese citizens to three visits per week and ten sessions per any given 28-day period.
The governing parties of Japan reportedly expect to have the legislation passed by both houses of the Diet prior to the current parliamentary session’s official end on June 20.