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Implications huge for Japan if casino legislation passes

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the only people who want a macau in Japan, are the legislators, politicians, and bureaucrats who will make money out of it. Just like the introduction of Nuclear power into this country.. bribing and blinding, binding and bonding..

10 ( +13 / -3 )

Bringing in casino districts in Japan is a no brainer. One of the biggest jokes in the world is that gambling is illegal in Japan. The Japanese people deserve better gambling options than merely pachinko and slots.

2 ( +8 / -6 )

Casino will be sucking up hard earning ordinary Japanese money and move to overseas Casino operators. Casino will destroy hard working Japanese traditional working ethic. Casino will destroy Japanese family. I have saw many family went broken up, lost home, prostitution, drug trafficking, living in street and suicide in Australia because of Casino. Loan shark force addict gamblers to become drug mule and prostitute. I don’t see Casino makes any positive out come on society. I have lost all my hard earned money on Baccarat table. I don’t want see my fellow Japanese family suffer by Casino games. I hope Japanese law makers will be wisely decided on Casino issue. In Singapore, the Government collect entry fee on its citizen entering into Casino because Singaporean Government does not want its citizen to gambling away their money. If Japanese politicians want making revenue from Casino and then they should only permit in Okinawa. It will create job opportunity for local peoples and generate tax revenue from Casino for Okinawa Government.

1 ( +12 / -11 )

Does it mean they would no longer have to pretend they are not gambling and 'donate' toys to a tiny cubby-hole in exchange for money? Japan has had casinos and gambling for ages.

5 ( +11 / -6 )

I don't mind gambling being formally introduced in Japan, provided that:

They set a "safe" limit for all individuals, perhaps 10% of monthly income. It is the casino's responsibility to enforce this, and any individual losing more than this amount will have to be repaid by the casino, with punitive fines to government. Reciepts will have to be issued, so that the customer has a way to prove their losses. A credit card specifically for use inside the casino would make this system painless and easy to administer.

All casinos must be 100% Japanese-owned, and profits must remain in Japan. No using these as a means to rob the Japanese public of their money and ship it overseas. Tourists are welcome to bring in foreign money, but none leaves Japan. Let's not have a repeat of the Pachinko parlors where the Japanese public suffers while Korean owners get rich and none of the profit finds its way back ot Japan.

An independent agency is set up to monitor the fairness of games, paid for entirely from the fines it levies for unfair practices. Let's not have a repeat of Vegas where any player coming up with a legitimate way to play the system and make a buck from pure skill is booted out.

All games must contain an element of skill. No purely random games. That means no slots, just games where skill is at least as large a part of the result as chance over a hundred games.
-11 ( +8 / -19 )

Supporting Kobuta Chan here. Casinos are money suckers and family destroyers. I've seen many men who claim that they can stop anytime..sure they spend their own cash, their wife's.. it ends up with a broken family. Some things are better off left dead. Casinos are dangerous toys, especially without regulations (like a limit to how much one can spend and things like that. This pisses me off, I mean really..even in my country they were like "we're introducing the gaming industry!" I thought- games like you know; video games! Soon enough every village and city had gambling corners..and more online gambling sites situated in here. Great right? No. I refuse jobs from betting and gaming companies because personally they go against my 'moral' or 'conscience'.

13 ( +14 / -1 )

How about personal responsibility. There's nothing wrong with gambling as long as you know when to stop. If your stupid enough to gamble away all your money, you deserve to be a bum on the street.

-4 ( +3 / -7 )

From what I have been told, Japan already has casinos ... but they are all underground and operate illegally. And, from what I hear, big money is being passed around steadily at these places. So making them legal would be a no-brainer. That way the government could put some kind of controls over casino-type gambling ... and, hopefully, keep the gangsters and ( I guess you would call them this) con-artists from dipping into the till.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

There are many problem gamblers in Japan already. Have you seen the number of people in pachinko parlors? If people want to gamble, they already can, despite the commonly held brlief that Japan has no gambling. At least as has been suggested, the casinos remain entirely Japanese owned, the money will stay here rather than siphoned off to Korea and China through the organised criminal syndicates that run the show now..

3 ( +5 / -2 )

"Dogs and cats, sleeping together."

2 ( +2 / -0 )

This has been bandied about down here in Okinawa for quite a number of years with a majority of the population here being strongly against it. Pachinko has destroyed countless numbers of families and many people see casinos as something much worse.

While there are others in the business industry that view Okinawa as being a viable hub for gamblers in the region something on par with Macau.

The Yakuza have to be be jumping up and down for joy.

9 ( +10 / -1 )

Yubaru's comments above ring some memory bells in my noggin concerning gambling on Okinawa. When I lived there, through my line of work, I encountered a group of Okinawans who were calling for an independent country there (this was prior to Reversion). Their main form of income, they said, would come from legally operated casinos. They envisioned a gambling enclave similar to what was going on in Macau, which was Portuguese-controlled at the time. They felt that this idea could succeed. However, the Japanese government merely said "nonsense" to the whole scheme ... giving such excuses as that the Okinawan yakuza would control the gambling operations.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Pachinko, a slot machine-style game played in thousands of smoky parlors in every corner of Japan, is estimated to generate more than $200 billion in annual revenues.

$200 billion dollars in annual revenues???Well, that's $200 billion dollars that won't be spent on genuine goods and services. And pachinko gambling cannot be equated with casino gambling. You can probably play pachinko all day and not lose more than 50,000 yen. The same amount can be lost in the spin of a wheel or the turn of a card in a casino.

There's nothing wrong with gambling as long as you know when to stop. If your (sic) stupid enough to gamble away all your money, you deserve to be a bum on the street.

There are millions of not so "stupid" people from all walks of life who have become compulsive gamblers, including the likes of doctors, lawyers and scientists. It's one of the biggest growing social problems in the "developed" world. If you think horseracing and pachinko causes problems, wait until casinos are unleashed on Japanese society. It will open the door to gambling to a much wider slice of the populace who would never even dream of entering a pachinko parlor or going to the track. And does anyone really believe that the yakuza won't have their claws stuck somewhere or other into this "business"?

1 ( +4 / -3 )

I don't like this idea :( Japanese people don't work hard and make all that good money to have it thrown into a hole...to be fair, I DO love casinos, but I don't want them to be in Japan because I am very scared it'll cause a shift in how the public population will be like because there is nothing that just only affects the people involved, it affects everybody...I am half Japanese, so that last statement may sound weird but it's fully understandable from my end, I just can't put it into clear English sentences that will be easy to understand because they'll be all jumbled. I know the pachinko and the like, but this is different.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Why not? Pachinko is really no different and they have slots in the parlors. A Las Vegas-style atmosphere may do the country some good.

-2 ( +3 / -5 )

You can probably play pachinko all day and not lose more than 50,000 yen. The same amount can be lost in the spin of a wheel or the turn of a card in a casino.

Evidently you haven't played pachinko much have you? It is VERY easy to lose 50,000 in one day, in fact within the space of a few hours if you are stubborn and get sucked into playing a machine that doesn't payout they particular day.

There is such a thing as 1 yen pachinko now, and 0.5 yen pachinko too, and there are plenty of folks who play all day and still lose 10,000 to 20,000 yen.

While the scale is not the same, and pachinko is not supposed to be gambling (yeah right!) it is enough of a problem that casino gambling would only exaggerate.

There is no way the government could keep the criminal element out of it either. Keep casino gambling out of Japan please!

4 ( +5 / -1 )

You can probably play pachinko all day and not lose more than 50,000 yen. The same amount can be lost in the spin of a wheel or the turn of a card in a casino.

Evidently you haven't played pachinko much have you? It is VERY easy to lose 50,000 in one day, in fact within the space of a few hours if you are stubborn and get sucked into playing a machine that doesn't payout they particular day.

Exactly, but I've been to Vegas watching some high roller baccarat where they bet $20,000/HAND!! Of course that won't affect "normal" people since most don't have that kind of money to throw around, but the point is that it's so easy to lose more money in a casino than at pachinko. BTW is there any limit to bet size at the horses or keirin, boat races?

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Gambling obviously already exists to a huge extent here in Japan. $200 billion per year pachinko revenue puts TOTAL Casino revenue in ANY country in the shade. People saying that a casino or two in Japan would lead to social problems are burying their heads in the sand, or looking the other way. The problem is already here - in every Japanese town and city.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

The only losers will be the Yakuza. One can only hope. Remember Vegas and Atlantic City were mob havens until things went commercial. Time to get rid of smoking hell holes known as Pachinko/Slot Parlours. Vegas Strip casinos are clean and safer than most places I been to. Japan will just be that must better if they go the Casino route.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Yeah, I can't see casinos here contributing to the health of the society unless I happen to owning one of them.

Why do I have this feeling that if casinos were open here, it would be like the Japanese lack of the enzyme to break down alcohol, and lots and lots o' people would be addicts in an instant.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Legalized gambling does enrich only a small group of entrepreneurs as well as the government but does little for average citizens. It is a fact that comprehensive and careful studies indicate that legalized gambling does continue to destroy individuals, wreck families, increase crime and ultimately cost society far more than the governments makes. Generally a large percentage of people view the overall impact of casino on society as negative. It is obviously a vice and it's important to understand that gambling addiction is real. The consequences can be just as tragic as alcohol and drug abuse. In fact gambling is probably the fastest growing teenage addiction. Let's hope that you don't see a generation of addicts in Japan and that it never becomes a epidemic and develop into a public health crisis.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

How the hell has Frungy been thumbed down by anybody. This forum really is populated by a load of socialist left wing loons.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Yakuza people must be mad at now. There was time Bakuchi-uchi=yakuza. If big money making casino is legalized,l it might not affect their tera-sen income, but their customers such as business owners and politicians will use casinos..

As for casinos in Nevada, State of Nevada control. Nevada Gaming Control Board takes away casino license if Casinos have any illegal activity. When Nevada had nothing and legalized gambling, Chicago Mafia (Cosa Nostra) sent their henchmen to open gambling halls and boon, it created casino booms. However, around time Harry Reid (Current Democratic power man) became a Gaming Commissioner these casinos had to sell their operations to big bisiness such ad Howard Hughes, Donald Trump, Adelson and Wynn were safe because they did not get in with mobs. So, they are still big shots in Vegas,

BTW, there is no pachinkos in Casino-hotels. Video poker and slots, Casino incomes are mainly from hotel and table games.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

As long as this DETROYS the pachinko parlors.... It's ALL good

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

This is preposterous to say there is no gambling in Japan. Sounds like a policy on gambling research

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

Hypocrisy is not what it was. The decadence of the Japanese culture is a reality that only the naive foreigners are still unaware. The post-nuclear rout will just reveal everything to light. Welcome to the single thought of a doomed world. L'hypocrisie n'est plus ce qu'elle était. La decadence de la culture japonaise est une réalité que seuls les étrangers naïfs ignorent encore. La débandade post-nucléaire va juste tout révéler au grand jour. Bienvenue dans la pensée unique d'un monde condamné.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

And pachinko gambling cannot be equated with casino gambling. You can probably play pachinko all day and not lose more than 50,000 yen. The same amount can be lost in the spin of a wheel or the turn of a card in a casino.

I had a student who told me they were having a "bad day". I asked him why and he said that he had lost 1,000,00 yen before coming to my lesson. I wrote the number out to make sure he wasn't mistaking numbers, and he confirmed that. This was one morning on a Saturday. When I asked him what he was going to do after the lesson, he said he was going to go back to the pachinko parlor and try to win it back.

Pachinko is a blight on Japan. I find it laughable that most of the Japanese people I talk to say that there "is no gambling in Japan". I go to some train stations in Saitama for work and there are more pachniko parlors around the station than convenience stores. It's a fruitless waste of time and money.

Having legalized gambling on a larger scale will only make things worse, in my opinion. It'll only redistribute money, not create wealth. I doubt any people in Asia will come to Japan for gambling when there are much cheaper options closer to them. Las Vegas and Macau only work because they are destination cities designed for overall entertainment. Nowadays, gambling is one of the least popular things for people visiting Las Vegas to do. Native American casinos in the States only work because it's a way for a oppressed group to get some wealth back. But outside of that, it hurts more people than helps. In my hometown, there's a fairly prominent Native American casino. It was recently renovated from a less harmful BINGO hall that attracted mainly elderly people to a more Vegas-style gaming casino. Many people that I know around my age (in their 20's) go there and lose hundreds of dollars. It's a money pit.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

I never understand what joy people get from gambling - it just seems a dull way to fritter away perfectly good money. OK, I have had the odd flutter on a few horses, but the times I have been to roulette have left me utterly bored.

Casinos and the gambling industry do not sustain themselves on people having the occasional and infrequent gamble, but on the hard core who gamble down to their last penny or yen. Look at the people who waste their money at pachinko - it is so depressing. They look to me like their blood or very soul has been drained from them by the machines. Perhaps it has been - the gambling industry is like a giant parasite, feeding off the misery of gambling addicts.

I am acquainted with a man who as a youngster became seriously addicted to fruit machines. He got into debt and this eventually led to him robbing a bank and going to prison. A different guy, who I used to work with, was a gambling addict and it came to a head when on pay day he spent the entire monthly salary at lunch time gambling. He lost his job and could not pay the rent. These are extreme cases, but there are many more who gamble themselves to the edge of poverty each month by spending any spare cash at packinko.

Pachinko bad enough, let's not give the gambling parasite even more ways to suck the soul out of the legion of addicts.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Tokyo and Osaka are too cold with big mouth mayors. Maybe Shimonoseki and Hofu where an island Noshima can be made as macao, Hong Kong or Singapore type catch of Chinese billionaires and multi billionaires? Or maybe Kumamoto and Fukuoka? Nagasaki? Kokura? Afghan based US Military wii be shifted to Asia now. Okinawa is not a good candidate because US Military men will be increased.

Spain and other countries are itchy to have casino-hotels now, One thing is for sure, Casinos are for wealthy people who love gambling- I mean to be gypped.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Switch the word Pachinko to Casino... then its not that big of an issue is it? The gov't can even tax you more on direct income after the switch. Win-win.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

WHY NOT.... if it will boost the economy of Japan so be it. Many asian countries are raking billions of dollars in Casino revenues. And It will create more jobs. Macau, Singapore, Philippines were successful and still building some more. Forget about the negative aspects of having a casino in Japan. I am sure it will be worth it and increase tourism. Casinos I have been in some asian casinos and they are all properly secured, managed and controlled. If Japan allows Okudas pachinkos , the mahjong sessions, Horse racing to name a few, Casinos will generate more income for Japan. Corruptions???? WTF it's all over the world。 Name a country without corruption....IMHO. hehehehe

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

how naive can ppl be, casino's are built for private profit, not for improving the economy...remember folks, the house always wins in the end.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

1,000,00 yen before coming to my lesson. I wrote the number out to make sure he wasn't mistaking numbers, and he confirmed that. This was one morning on a Saturday. When I asked him what he was going to do after the lesson, he said he was going to go back to the pachinko parlor and try to win it back.

If this supposed to be 100,000 or 1,000,000 yen? That's a $9,000.00 (US) difference, I wrote the number out to make sure I wasnt making any mistake,

0 ( +1 / -1 )

If pachinko parlors were Non-Smoking, I would drop in once in a while. However, they are mostly gravesites for future lung cancer victims and Dr. Death is the big winner there.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Yubaru-san: I think (my guess) the writer meant 1,000 yen, How much it costs to buy a pachinko ball now-a-days? Where this student get betting money? Something is fishy on that story.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

Yubaru-san: I think (my guess) the writer meant 1,000 yen, How much it costs to buy a pachinko ball now-a-days? Where this student get betting money? Something is fishy on that story.

1,000 yen is nothing really when talking about pachinko. You could lose that in a couple of minutes. I don't think there is anything fishy about the story really, as there are plenty of kids with pt jobs that spend their free time playing pachinko.

II would say it's 100,000 yen, and not 1,000,000 as I know plenty of folks who carry around at least that much cash when they go play pachinko or the slots here.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Can HS students allow to play Pachinko betting in Japan? In Nevada. people under 21 can not go to game areas such as table games.slot and video poker areas beside they can not drink alcoholic drinks anywhere. Pachinko is not classified as gambling machine in Japan, Is this why HS students can bet money to pachinko? Just wondering.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Bad idea. This benefits only a small few. Casinos are cash-grabs that give the illusion of a flourishing economy. In actuality they steal your money, add no positive social benefit, and to the crime and addiction. Look for the "crime" section in JT to have a ton of new stories about old people losing their money, parents leaving kids in cars, ... etc.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

meant to say add to the crime and addiction.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

We don't need casinos here. People need to learn to work for their money and not get addicted to something that will just take all they have.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Yubaru-sabn if a HS kid can earn that much money every week, he is earning more than college educated technology related employees of huge corporations. 100,000 yen is just $1000 a day for his part time job. My daughter's organization get resumes from Japan but her assistants or other stuffs don't use Japanese so I wind up translating them so I know Japanese payrolls pretty well. No need to go to colleges. Just keep their current job and enjoy pachinko every day,

These casino planners have eyes on Chinese suckers who waste their money in Macao, etc, but not Japanese people, I am sure. Sure some Japanese people gamble in Las Vegas, but they don't buy $1,000 tips. like Chinese do.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

I always though I'm smart gambler and I can turn over $ 1000 with $ 300 capital on Baccarat and less on Black Jack in two decks if cards favor to my game. However, I can not control myself when winning or losing. So I don't believe self responsible in Gambling. I don’t meet single person who can control and keep clam when he or she losing bet. I have been to Black Jack card counting school but not easy. I like gambling and I regularly bet on horse, play Pachinko, Pachin-Slot in Japan. I play and understand all Casino games. I do not say I'm professional gambler because I can not living on playing Casino games. Sometime wining straight can be long when losing straight come it can be short but it will be gone all winning and capital in just a few hours or within day. I'm still playing Baccarat with caution but not easy to control on winning and losing. If you start gambling and then you can not stop because you want you're money back and then you want to win once you're lost money was back. The gambling will marry go around until you lost everything and nothing to sell off. If Abe Government bring Casino to Japan and then he will be committed Hara-kiri in his later life for destroy Japanese society and killing off hard working ethic of traditional Japanese workforce if he was true Japanese leader of country. I mean he will take responsible for all damage has done on Japanese society after he brought Casino into Japan. If Government wants more money from Japanese peoples and then he should choose method of increasing tax instead of collecting Tax revenue from Casino. Gambling is nothing wrong but shortage of money will lead peoples to prostitution, drug dealing, stealing and robbing. Yakuza will become loan shark and force their customers to drug mule and prostitute. It's happening in all Casino venues around the world. Singapore Government is doing very caution about operating Casino in its soil. The Government collect expensive entry fee to its citizen who enter to Casino gaming venue but they can visit to shops, restaurants and entertainment venue. Okinawa will be only location I'll agree if Japan must have Casino in its soil. Yamato peoples can go there on holiday and not daily basic skipping work. There will be job opportunity for Okinawan peoples and revenue from Casino can be using in regional development. All Japanese citizens must pay 5000 Yen entry fee for to enter Casino gaming venue and foreign Passport holders are entry free. So such as restriction will limit damaging on Japanese society. Most of Casino profit coming from Poker Machine. Revenue from VIP gamblers are 50 - 50 for Casino operators. The important thing is not to destroy good character of Japanese peoples. Once human character was damaged and then it will be generation. Japan will be nothing different with moral corrupted country. Pride of Japanese will be gone because of gambling habit. Japanese law makers should go to Las Vegas but not just visiting Casino. Go to peoples who living under the city underground and interview their life story. Come to Melbourne, meet with Vietnamese Chinese peoples some of their family members were executed in Changi Prison, Singapore and Vietnam Prison for drug trafficking. All of drug traffickers are using as drug mule by criminal loan shark. I hope Japanese law makers will think twice before they decide on whether Casino should be allowed operating on Japanese soil or not.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

There is plenty of gaming already, it's just illegal. Many have lost everything in mahjong. So, Casino will get rid of many of the underground activity and make gambling fairer. Of course, the house always has the advantage. The government can collect taxes. In Canada, the Casinos in Niagara Falls pays for a large part of Ontario Province's healthcare costs. Keeping victimless crime illegal just mean the government can't regulate it but others will make money off it. I doubt that Japan can compete with Macau but it will keep gambling money home instead of going abroad.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

If they build Casinos in Okinawa and make it a resort island destination, it will create alot of jobs and there will be many visitors from Honshu and surrounding countries. Japan goverment will benefit from huge tax base.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Casinos will bring also money laundering, black fund for politics avid of power and so on, do you really think this is good for Japan ? How surprising Osaka mayor is pushing this....

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15786798

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

I believe Japan is planning to get Chinese billionaires and multi-millionaires come to spend their wealth in Japan instead of in Macao, etc. Phillipin and Vietnam, Malayasia already have plan working now. I don;t think Japan has no plan to have Japanese gamblers. Chinese buys many many $1000 tips and goes to table games.

In Nevada, there is no entrance fees as people go to theaters, restaurants and shows. Never heard of entrance fees.

Prostitution is illegal in most of counties in Nevada.

There are lenses all over in casinos (cam-coders) Security officers do not carry guns. If needed, they call 911 to get llocal polices (in Vegas, LV Metro). Never heard of money laundering. There are many banks to handle loans.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

"I believe Japan is planning to get Chinese billionaires and multi-millionaires to come spend their wealth in Japan"

Whatever happened to communism in China? The Chinese Communist Party has become a bunch of slackers or what?

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Never heard of money laundering

The please learn something today :

Casinos: An individual will walk into a casino with cash and buy chips, play for a while and then cash in his or her chips, for which he or she will be issued a check. The money launderer will then be able to deposit the check into his or her bank account, and claim it as gambling winnings.

More at the wiki :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Money_laundering

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Kobuta Chan is SPOT ON !!

1 ( +1 / -0 )

@Citizen2012: In Nevada, casinos do not use checks. Have you ever heard of ATM, VISA, Master cards, etc.? In Casinos, some people use cash when it is small amount. No one carry $10,000 roll to casinos in USA where there are too many robberies are too frequent, People usually use their credit card to buy, etc. The payment If there is leftover or winning, Casino employees just credit amount to your bank account. Not because casinos don;t trust employees but just easy to credit in your bank account. Macao, Hong Kong, too. Are you writing with your guess on casino? Money Laundering is in Japan, but not in Casinos, not even in Atlantis City.

Visit Macao, Hong Kong, and other places that has casinos. Casinos there do not use Check book, either.

Find Chinese gamblers do not use $100,000 roll of bills when they buy chips in different denominations,

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

To clarify, I meant a million yen. Probably should've just written it out. He worked for a pharmaceutical company and definitely made a lot of money, but I think 1,000,000 was probably a big chunk of his savings.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Casino employees just credit amount to your bank account

A wire from a Casino is like a check and is giving to that dirty money a legal existence.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Citizwb2912L Yon wrote check, Writing check involves check books which casinos do not use.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

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