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Are you in favor of legalizing casino gambling in Japan?

29 Comments
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I voted yes, but if Japan is to open casinos it has to have a support network for gambling addiction. Slot machine parlours are all over australia and in all pubs, but staff are trained to notice problem gamblers are instructed on how to deal with them. However, I fear that, in Japan it will just be a case of, open the doors and take their money!

-3 ( +5 / -7 )

Mature society does not need a game of chance; ruin many lives, make one prosper?..

1 ( +6 / -4 )

It would be interesting to see how it plays out if they let overseas casino operators start up here.

I wonder if it would be anything like when News Corp raided Asahi TV in the early 1990s, Asahi was shut out of various existing local cosy relationships and Rupert Murdoch and his mob were gone in about 6 months. Soon after it was back to business as usual at Asahi.

Or the prising-open of the Japanese cell phone market to include non-Japanese models from the mid-2000s, which only happened because Google tied up with a South Korean operating system (Android) which the rest of the world was getting into anyway.

Hmm - what about existing local vested interests - the pachinko parlour operators, horse, boat and cycle racing, mahjong and so on.

If casinos come, I think that they are always going to have a, let's say, a Japanese flavour.

And anyway, to what extent is casino-type gambling traditional anymore? So much is online now.

Finally, does Japan really want to have a bigger generation of problem gamblers and destitute families than it has now?

Hmm - can't see it happening in the short term!

0 ( +2 / -2 )

I say legalize it. I don't see why I shouldn't be allowed to gamble simply because some other people cannot control themselves.

That all said, I don't gamble so it's mostly irrelevant to me.

0 ( +6 / -6 )

My only problem with legalising casinos here is the gang connections. The casinos in Macau use Triad-run junkets to get VIP clientele - with a large percentage of that being corrupt government officials from the Chinese mainland. I'm not making this up, this is how they operate. The Yaks will be rubbing their hands with glee when casinos land here. It's only a matter of time! It may even be a face-off between the Triads and the Yaks. We're going to see a similar problem with Sydney's Crown Casino opens, as the Triads are already setting up operations there. The local biker gangs, who control property and the drug markets, will not take lightly to that.

So yeah, the inescapable underworld connections are my main issue with this. The J govt. is too soft on them.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

I voted yes, but if Japan is to open casinos it has to have a support network for gambling addiction. Slot machine parlours are all over australia and in all pubs, but staff are trained to notice problem gamblers are instructed on how to deal with them. However, I fear that, in Japan it will just be a case of, open the doors and take their money!

Staff are trained, huh? And they regard the customer's interests more important than profits?

I had no idea you were such a comedian. As a fellow Aussie, I won't let on that you are talking straight out of your rear end and see how long it takes for people to notice.

0 ( +6 / -6 )

The way I look at it, legalization of gambling could lead to higher revenues for the nation, which could reduce taxes for the people of Japan.

I don't really gamble, but I could understand how some people would dislike it. It could cause people to spend more money than they should and hurt their families. Then again, when has Japan ever focused PRIMARILY on families? It seems to pride itself on its work ethic, which is often taken to extremes for many employers.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

I think adults should be able to do what they please if they aren't hurting anybody but themselves. I think it is foolish to believe this will prop up the economy, however...

1 ( +3 / -2 )

I don't really like gambling, or the idea of casinos coming to Japan, but I've seen the transformation that Atlantic city is undergoing right now.

Sure, it attracts a whole lot of vice. However, it enriches the city its located in. Atlantic City has benefited from better neighborhoods, more public services, and jobs.

So long as these casinos are located outside of the bigger cities (Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, and Hokkaido), I think they could really work in Japan and further assist with regional revitalization.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Yep.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

I voted yes in hopes that "casinos" will provide the competition to pachinko, horse racing, boat racing, bike racing, etc, and rattle up at least some of the corrupt ties and amakudari rings that lie behind those industries.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Reformedbasher - No doubt you have never worked in a bar nor do you have any idea what you are talking about. I managed a pub in Melbourne before I came to Japan and staff must take a responsible service of alcohol course and also a problem gambler's course to work in the gaming rooms. Therefor, next time you want to accuse someone of speaking out of their butt I think you should spend some time behind a bar instead of just drinking in one.

-2 ( +3 / -5 )

It seems that ordinary Japanese people would like to save as much money as they can rather than hopeless gamblings except rich people of 1%. Many elderly keep Y10-20 million in tansu at their houses.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I prefer to save my money when possible.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

I voted yes, but could easily have voted the other way.

Most gambling operations only survive due to problem gamblers - those addicts who spend nearly everything they have in the hope of the big win that they can never get. The occasional leisure gambler does not keep the industry afloat - they are the nice-to-have top up.

One poster mentioned how gambling has done wonders for Atlantic City. Yes, but only because it has sucked money from elsewhere. Gambling does not create wealth, it simply redistributes it from the gambler to the house. The improvement in Atlantic City is off the back of ruined lives.

But those who need to gamble will tend to find a way - pachinko or somewhere else and casinos are nicer places than packinko parlours.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Pachinko is sooooo BORING. Brain dead activity. Okinawa is the best place for the new casino - a Las Vegas on an island close to many Asian countries. SK already has its gambling center. Here are three recent headlines. "Resort, on Jeju island, to open in 2017. South Korea popular destination for wealthy Chinese tourists. Complex to be one of two mega-casino resorts in South Korea." Japan cannot just stand around and wonder, "What happened?" The greatest benefit - USA is out of there!

0 ( +1 / -1 )

scipantheist: I think adults should be able to do what they please if they aren't hurting anybody but themselves. I think it is foolish to believe this will prop up the economy, however...

The problem is that they do hurt others when they get addicted to gambling. Think about their kids, or about whoever needs to support them after their parents (father most likely) lost everything. Of course, people today can always gamble their life away online just as well, but legalizing it would just make it worse.

5 ( +7 / -2 )

I need a way to start making side money playing poker again. Wages are getting lower and lower as an English teacher here in Japan. Please pass this new law!

-5 ( +1 / -6 )

100% at least so there can be some laws, rules & regulations plus admission to that people are addicted to it...

0 ( +0 / -0 )

No only should it not be legalized, already legal gambling like pachinco should be illegalized.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

No different to pachinko.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Answer YES< if you want more corruption/briberies and mafia in the Japanese society.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Most of you talk about the reason for banning something is because it seems that the public at large can't be left to their own to decide what is right and wrong.

You all speak about 'addiction' and suffering so why not ban smoking? It also kills those who don't partake in its 'addiction' and yet it's legal.

If you think gambling is wrong because it harms people and those peoples' families then please consider the same logic when you think about other so called 'legal' activities. If you decide to take away the right to one form of profit at the expense of weak minded peoples' lives then consider that so called free choice for all activities that kill others while making a profit.

The choice of freedom to choose isn't so free, it costs us all. You can't have your cake and eat it too...

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Macau topped cities as the top economic performer. Ontario Canada pays for their healthcare system with government run casinos. As for Atlantic City, they are in trouble because of badly run casinos. Not to mention that there are illegal gamble going on in Japan.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Gambling has been legal in Japan in the forms of the lottery , pachinko and racing (horse, boat, etc). I see little difference if it extends to casinos. People who want to gamble will and people that don't won't. As long as the taxed money goes to something reasonable (which is probably asking for a miracle) I see nothing wrong with it.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

I don't understand why Japanese want to open the casino. I think that there are several way to improve society not to go Casino.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Nothing like adding fuel to the fire! In a society that already has its share of ssocial problems, you want to add gambling to the mix. There are many other ways for the goverment to increase revenue avenues. This is just DUMB!!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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