Legislators from the ultra-nationalist Japan Restoration Party have seized an early lead with their draft bill that would bring casinos to the world’s third biggest economy, but rival measures may still emerge.
In a surprise move, the Japan Restoration Party, led by outspoken Osaka City Mayor Toru Hashimoto, submitted a casino promotional bill this morning to the Lower House of the Japanese parliament.
Japan's political parties are putting the final touches to a proposal that would extend the country's soccer lottery system to include betting on games from European competitions, including the English Premier League.
While they wait for Japan's multi-party “IR Giren” to meet and discuss a strategy for submitting proposals on casino legislation, the influential and newly-formed Japan Restoration Party has taken matters into its own hands, creating a casino policy group of its own.
Following last week's start to Japan’s general parliamentary session, the co-leader of the country’s ultra-nationalist Restoration Party has been voicing his own casino plans for Japan.
Political turmoil in the ruling Democratic Party of Japan has left the passage of casino legislation in Japan in limbo this year, but key defections from the DPJ mean the promotional bill for casino development could be poised to make headway in 2013.
Both Las Vegas casino titan Steve Wynn and his company's largest shareholder Kazuo Okada could lose future opportunities for casino development in Japan, depending on which way the Tokyo District Court rules in a bruising defamation case now under way.
The legislative bill to legalize casinos in Japan has been put on hold due to political strife in the ruling Democratic Party of Japan. Experts say it is unclear if the bill can now be submitted by the end of the parliamentary session extended to September.
Leading Japanese online social games firms quickly jettisoned some of their most profitable products when confronted with government concerns over certain sales methods. Experts say the industry moved rapidly to avoid regulators curtailing other paid offerings.
