kamome wrote:My question is, which economy will be helped by bringing in casinos? If they're just for pachinko-like diversion, then it will bring tons of profits to the owners, a few extra arubaito, and that's it. Meanwhile, the banks still will be a mess and corporations will continue to post losses.

Wouldn't it be more profitable to seize the assets of the Yakuza?

Taro Toporific wrote:LDP to seek to legalize casinos
Kyodo, Saturday February 25, 7:48 PM
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party is expected to formulate a basic policy around June to legalize casinos in Japan in an effort to attract more tourists from abroad, lawmakers said Saturday

JAPANESE ONLINE CASINO CAFE RAIDS[/B]
online-casinos.com, Sat. 25-02-2006....Cafe staff apparently told online casino players not to worry about legality since the server was located outside Japan...more...

...In Japan, MPs are about to attempt an overhaul of the country's strict gambling laws that would pave the way for the construction of a Japanese version of the super-casino. The pro-casino lobby says Japan is losing out to other Asian countries, such as South Korea and China, in the race to secure extra tourist dollars...The group had hoped to table a bill to legalise casinos during the current parliamentary session but last-minute changes and a packed legislative schedule mean they will probably have to wait until next year, Mr Aoki told the Guardian...To pro-gambling MPs, the government's erstwhile opposition to casinos reeks of hypocrisy. Japanese who enjoy a flutter can already bet on several sports..."Japan is already a gambler's paradise," says Masayoshi Oiwane, principal of the Japan Casino School in Tokyo...But critics say that, economic benefits aside, the plans could be disastrous for habitual gamblers and their families. "Japan already has a huge gambling problem and opening casinos would make it easier for at-risk people to get swallowed up by their addiction," says Itta Hoshijima, a social worker in Tokyo...Mr Oiwane said attracting more tourists was only half of the appeal. "The aim isn't just to attract more foreigners but to stop Japanese people from spending huge sums of money overseas in places like South Korea," he said. "Japan is the only country in Asia that bans casinos. It doesn't make sense. Even North Korea has one"...more...

Mulboyne wrote:Guardian: Japan prepares to spin the wheel of fortune

Blah Pete wrote:is Ishihara planning to bulid? Wonder of it will be just another Pachinko like place filled with smoke.
Will they actually try to add some class to it or appeal to the Keibar, boat race, off track betting and Pachinko playing types.
Bet they won`t have free drinks like Vegas...

Online gambling companies have been eyeing the Japanese market for some time, and this week the US media was carrying the results of a Deutschebank gaming survey that shows why. Although the survey was targeted on the physical gambling world, the statistics it showcased are of clear interest to online strategic planners. The reports said that Japan could be the gaming industry's next frontier now that many development opportunities around the world are spoken for. With the most slot-machine-like gaming devices of any country in the world, Japan is a huge and growing market. Brian Gordon, a partner in the Las Vegas-based financial consulting company Applied Analysis, said Japan has to be seen as a huge opportunity if only because of the size of the market and turnover in slotlike gaming devices...more...

The slot machine maker headed by Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada was awarded a permanent license to manufacture, distribute and operate gambling devices by Nevada regulators on Wednesday. Aruze Gaming America Inc., a subsidiary of Tokyo-based pachinko machine maker Aruze Corp., won the license at the end of a two-year limited license period in which it had to prove it could respond effectively to inquiries by the Gaming Control Board. "There had been cultural differences, language problems, changes in staff," said Aruze lawyer Bob Faiss. "The board gave a two-year license to give Aruze a chance to show it had corrected all the problems." The license requires Aruze to maintain a bilingual key employee who can act as a liaison between the company and regulators, the board ruled. A unanimous approval by the three-member board puts Aruze one step closer to selling slot machines in the United States, in which it would face competitors like Reno-based International Game Technology and Waukegan, Ill.-based WMS Industries Inc...Okada, listed by Forbes magazine as having a net worth of $1.2 billion with his family, also controls some 24.5 percent of shares in Wynn Resorts Ltd., where he is vice chairman of the board. Aruze slots will be used in Wynn's new casino resort in Macau set to open in September. ...more...

Japan is in talks with global casino operators including Las Vegas Sands Corp. and Harrah's Entertainment Inc. to operate the nation's first casino expected after 2010, the country's gaming adviser said. The government may initially issue two to three casino licenses for gaming resorts that would each cost ``slightly less'' than Las Vegas Sands' $3 billion investment in Singapore, said Toru Mihara, adviser to the governing Liberal Democratic Party's casino study group... Japan's legislative process may be an obstacle as detailed debates take at least a year, and the country has to come up with ways to cope with possible increases in crime linked to the casinos, he said. "We have achieved a certain level of consensus," said Mihara, who will present a draft to lawmakers in 2008 after ironing out the legal framework. "By end-2007, the market will move, including potential investors."...more...

Mulboyne wrote:Bloomberg: Japan in Talks With Harrah's, Sands for Casinos After 2010

NAGOYA--Police cracking down on illegal casinos likely feel they are playing an endless whack-a-mole game. As soon as they hammer down one of the gambling dens, another pops up.

But police are not folding their cards. They plan to further tighten their grip on gambling houses that operate under the guise of game arcades and funnel billions of yen in illegally gained profits to gangster organizations.

In the past 18 months, the police crackdown has forced 28 "casinos" in central Nagoya to close, staunching the stream of funds to the underground world.

But the clean-up operation so far appears to be a temporary solution.

In April 2005, there were 35 casinos operating in Nagoya's bustling entertainment districts of Sakae and Kinsan. Even after the 28 gambling dens were closed by the end of October, there were still 21.

That is because 14 casinos were newly set up....more...

Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic party plans to legalise casino gambling next year. Seiko Noda, who heads an LDP study group that is drafting the legislation, said the target was to pass a bill by the end of the next ordinary Diet session in June 2008. The ruling party hopes casinos will spur tourism, help revitalise local economies and increase tax revenues. Opening up Japan to casinos is also likely to provide big opportunities for foreign operators, as few Japanese companies have the expertise necessary to develop the large-scale operations being envisioned. Japan's initiative to deregulate casinos comes as Macao outruns the Las Vegas Strip in casino revenues and Singapore prepares to open its first casino resorts to attract players and stimulate tourism.

Ms Noda said the proposal to open up casinos in Japan was part of a broader initiative to attract more foreigners. She said Japan would study the possibility of charging the local population an entrance fee to discourage visits by lower-income consumers. Under a programme launched by the former prime minister Junichiro Koizumi, the government aims to boost annual foreign visitor numbers to 10m by 2010 from 7.3m last year. This initiative comes as Japan faces a declining population and falling tax revenues. "If there were three Las Vegas-style casinos in Japan, it could bring in Y700bn in tax revenues. At the same time, there would be investment, and employment would increase," Ms Noda said.

In particular, casinos are seen as a way to revitalise local economies, which have not enjoyed the economic recovery seen recently in large urban centres. Leading casino operators, including Las Vegas Sands and Genting of Malaysia, had told the LDP there was "tremendous potential, because Japan could attract interest from north China and Russia, where there has been huge [economic] growth", she said. "There is definitely enough demand for casinos," says Aaron Fisher, analyst at CLSA in Tokyo. Tokyo, in particular, has a large population within a two-hour radius earning a lot of money. "Definitely the returns [could be] huge," he says.

The LDP's plan still faces formidable obstacles, not least the negative image gambling has among the general public. Japan is the only advanced economy where casinos are illegal. "There is a special situation in Japan, which is that there is a strong allergic reaction to gambling," Ms Noda says. Under the current LDP plan, casinos in Japan would be entertainment complexes combining a range of facilities such as theme parks, theatres, shops, restaurants and hotels to dispel gambling's negative image.

canman wrote:But in all seriousness does the pachinko industry have that much power that they have been able to quash this for so long?

Steve Wynn turned to Kazuo Okada when the gambling magnate needed cash to finance his namesake Las Vegas casino in 2000. Now, Okada could be the ace up Wynn's sleeve in the Japanese businessman's home market. The pair want to submit a bid to operate Japanese casinos once the government opens the market, Okada, chairman of Aruze, said in an interview Thursday...If all goes according to plan, Japan may have its first casino open by 2012, according to Toru Mihara, an adviser to the governing Liberal Democratic Party's casino study group...more...