Japan Considering Legalized Gambling

Japan is definitely one of the world’s leading nations when it comes to groundbreaking advances in technology, but where legalized gaming is concerned it’s a little bit behind the times. However, that may all change pretty soon as several politicians feel that legalized gambling could attract more visitors to the Asian country and may help it recover from the tsunami and earthquake disasters it suffered in March 2010.

A British newspaper reported that a group of influential politicians from different political parties are aiming to introduce new gambling laws in the near future. This group boasts four former Japanese prime ministers as members and aims to revive a 2006 campaign which would see the nation’s current strict gaming laws overhauled. This would result in several world-class casinos being opened in Japan. Read more here about the current state of gambling in Japan.

The politicians believe that casinos and legalized gambling will be able to entice many visitors and the money earned could be used to help rebuild the country’s north-east coastline, which was left in ruins after the tsunami. The government figures it will cost close to 160 billion British pounds to rebuild the area.

An American company which funds the development of casinos called Gaming Capital Management confirmed that some Japanese MPs are interested in passing legislation to allow casinos. The company said casinos can bring in a lot of money and it could help Japan recover at a quicker rate. Issei Koga is one of the politicians who are campaigning for new gambling and he said that casinos would do a lot for the Japanese tourism industry and the revenue they generate is sorely needed at the moment.

The Osaka University of Commerce agrees with Koga and a study they performed in 2009 showed that casino resorts may be worth as much as $44 billion U.S. dollars per year. However, to get the gambling laws changed, the Japanese parliament would need to agree to it and pass new legislation, which could take some time if it happens at all. The Japanese culture is steeped in tradition though, and some people feel that legalizing gambling might be viewed as too radical of a change.

Our top recommended online casino for Japanese citizens would be the Spin Palace casino which also offers a great mobile platform.