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Hawaii State Gambling Bill rejected

Japan Criminal Code Article 185

Aichi Prefecture Announces IR Concept

What is an appropriate amount to invest in Integrated Resort & Casinos development in Japan?

Several years ago, when the Japanese parliament legalized casino gambling, major overseas casino operators announced plans to invest more than ten billion dollars.  That was their strategy to boost their chances of obtaining a casino operating license.
Since then, many strict regulations have been announced by the Japanese government and even now more than 65% of the Japanese people are opposed to opening casinos, so it is now certain that sales and profits after opening will be far below the amount estimated a year ago.

According to the consulting teams of several major Japanese financial institutions, an appropriate investment amount is now estimated to be less than 5 billion dollars.
It may be time for developers to review their investment by reviewing sales and profits at non-casino facilities.

Can you guess how much the annual gambling revenue in Japan now?  It’s approximately US$260 billion dollars!  That is approximately 5 times the annual total casino revenue of Macao. Japan is already the largest gambling nation in the world, with activities such as horse races, bicycle races, speedboat racing, lottery, pachinko (pinball gambling machine), motorcycle racing, football pools, and number lotto.

In December 2016, the Japan Diet passed the Integrated Resort Promotion Bill, and the country is moving towards casino gambling.  Yet more than 60% of the population is opposed.  Certainly one of the reasons is that they are afraid that the number of pathological gamblers will increase, but more importantly, they feel that Japan has more than enough gambling venues already, and there is no need to add casino gambling.  According to the Japan Ministry of Health and Welfare, the number of people with a gambling addiction tops 5,300,000 and is the highest in the world, and this has become a serious social problem.

Does Japan really need casinos? 
If so, what should they be like?

Pathological Gambling

JAPAN CASINO PROJECT ANALYSIS

How to avoid conflict with Article 185 of the Japan criminal code?  Currently two ideas on how to permit casino gambling under certain conditions based on justifiable noncompliance with the law are under consideration.
The first idea would treat casino gambling similar to horse races, bicycle races, and speedboat races, etc. where a local government or its equivalent would establish the casino.  Casinos would be owned and administered by a public organization but operations will be left to the private sector.
The second idea involves placing it outside the scope of Article 185 by limiting it to specific locations, which would require a special resolution of the National Assembly, which is the supreme decision-making body.  The MGM Resort opening in Osaka will use this method.

In the United States, gambling is legal in 46 states, and prohibited in only four states.
In Hawaii, one of the states where gambling is prohibited, a bill to legalize gambling is submitted to the state legislature by pro-gambling lawmakers every year, but it has been rejected each time by a narrow margin.

A bill was submitted again in April 2025 and rejected by an extremely narrow margin, and the margin is narrowing slightly each year, so there is a possibility that gambling will be legalized in the near future.

TIn February 2026, Aichi Prefecture resumed consideration of attracting an Integrated Resort (IR)—including a casino—to a 50-hectare tract of prefectural land located on the Chubu Centrair International Airport island. This initiative constitutes a vision for an international tourism city that leverages the "Aichi Sky Expo" international exhibition center, aiming to boost the number of foreign visitors, stem the outflow of young people, and revitalize the regional economy.

Regarding the schedule, a call for comments from private-sector operators will be conducted from late 2025 through March 2026. In preparation for the national application acceptance period (two slots) scheduled for May through November 2027, the selection of an operator (one company) and feasibility studies will be advanced.ype your paragraph here.

Surprisingly little known fact

What is an appropriate amount to invest?