In Japan, the group of civil servants tasked with formulating the specific rules and guidelines for the nation’s coming integrated casino resorts has reportedly had a number of its recommendations accepted by a committee of experts.
According to a report from Asia Gaming Brief, officials from the Office of Integrated Resort Regime Promotion met with the eight-member expert panel led by Hitotsubashi University professor Hirotaka Yamauchi at prime minister’s Shinzo Abe’s official residence on Tuesday in advance of taking its proposals to government for consideration later in the year.
Among the official recommendations accepted by the expert committee, one would reportedly see the establishment as an external arm of the Cabinet Office of the Casino Management Board regulator while a second advocated the legalization of slots along with roulette and a number of card games such as poker.
Asia Gaming Brief reported that the groups also agreed that wagering on sporting events and online gaming should be prohibited while consenting to a requirement that would see operators obliged to implement an extensive range of security measures such as positioning security cameras at the entrances to any casino.
The accepted recommendations from the Office of Integrated Resort Regime Promotion would additionally ban casinos from featuring ATM machines on or near their gaming floors while only non-Japanese players would be allowed to purchase chips via credit cards.
Asia Gaming Brief moreover reported that the agreed-to recommendations would see any coming integrated casino resort limited to one gaming floor while the Gambling Insider news portal reported that this floor space would be restricted to 3% of the total area of any development.
For its part, GGRAsia reported that the expert panel also accepted a recommendation that junket operators should not be allowed to operate at any future Japanese integrated casino resort although it has so far allegedly been unable to formulate an effective definition of this activity.
Finally, Asia Gaming Brief reported that the Office of Integrated Resort Regime Promotion’s next consultation meeting is set to deal with anti-money laundering policies while GGRAsia alleged that Japanese lawmakers could be given a final vote on definitive casino legalization legislation as soon as the autumn.