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Japan goes from banning to approving the country’s first legal casino

Japan goes from banning to approving the country’s first legal casino

The Japanese government announced Friday the approval of a controversial plan to build the country’s first legal casino in the city of Osaka.

The authorities of Osaka and Nagasaki (southwest) had been requesting permission to build leisure complexes (“integrated resorts”) that include casinos, conference centers, hotels, restaurants or theaters for some time.

The project of osakathe third most populated city in the archipelago, “should contribute to the development of the region (…) and the growth of Japan, becoming a tourist base to transmit the attractions of Japan to the world,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Friday.

Japan has long been the only industrialized country to ban casinos, but in 2016 it passed a law that paved the way for the legalization of the sector.

The issue is contentious, with critics of these establishments pointing to the risk of exacerbating already significant gambling problems in Japan.

According to a 2021 government survey, 2.8 million people (2.2% of the population) are addicted to gambling.

Many of them are addicted to “pachinko”, a kind of vertical board with metal balls, or to “pachislo” (slot machines), which together generate 14.6 trillion yen (99.7 billion euros, US$ 110.35 billion) of income each year.

Some 7,600 establishments offer these games in Japan, usually located near railway stations.

Source: Gestion

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