Japan, the sleeping giant of casino gaming, has awoken. In the early hours of Thursday morning, lawmakers in the upper house of the Japanese parliament passed the Integrated Resorts Promotion bill, paving the way for full scale casino resorts in the country.

Japan has not officially legalized casino gaming today, but this will now almost certainly happen within a year or so.

The IR Promotion bill gives the government a 12-month deadline to prepare a framework of regulation, which will lay down licensing requirements and measures to protect gambling addicts from using casinos.

Further legislation will be prepared in the coming year, which will authorize the licensing of casinos, with hopes that the first resorts can be completed by the early 2020s.

Billions in Investment

All this is music to the ears of global casino giants like MGM, which wasted no time in officially congratulating the Japanese parliament on its “tireless and successful effort” in passing the bill.

“After years of study in the region, we believe the opportunity exists to drive significant growth in sustainable travel and tourism, particularly from international segments, along with the creation of thousands of jobs and long-term economic benefit,” said the company.

Japan, the sleeping giant of casino gaming, has awoken. In the early hours of Thursday morning, lawmakers in the upper house of the Japanese parliament passed the Integrated Resorts Promotion bill, paving the way for full scale casino resorts in the country.

Japan has not officially legalized casino gaming today, but this will now almost certainly happen within a year or so.

The IR Promotion bill gives the government a 12-month deadline to prepare a framework of regulation, which will lay down licensing requirements and measures to protect gambling addicts from using casinos.

Further legislation will be prepared in the coming year, which will authorize the licensing of casinos, with hopes that the first resorts can be completed by the early 2020s.

Billions in Investment

All this is music to the ears of global casino giants like MGM, which wasted no time in officially congratulating the Japanese parliament on its “tireless and successful effort” in passing the bill.

“After years of study in the region, we believe the opportunity exists to drive significant growth in sustainable travel and tourism, particularly from international segments, along with the creation of thousands of jobs and long-term economic benefit,” said the company.

(Casino.org)