Japan Considers Legalization of Casinos

A task force is being created by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in an effort to push for the legalization of casinos and to boost tourism and revenue as a result.

Japan is experiencing a somewhat sluggish economy and the Abe administration seems keen to tap into a new revenue source that analysts have said could be worth $40 billion per year. Caesars Entertainment and the Las Vegas Sands are reportedly already in line and ready to build casinos in the Asian country that is called home by roughly 128 million.

Recent efforts at legalization fell short in June when a casino bill never came up for a vote before this year's legislative session ended. The proposal can be considered in a special session that will likely commence in the next couple months, Forbes reported.

Tokyo is set to play host to the 2020 Summer Olympics and having casinos operating by that time could mean a considerable boon to the nation's economy, third-largest in the world with regard to gross domestic product (GDP). That GDP dropped 1.7% in Q2, a fact that is likely partially behind the prime minister's desire to kickstart the casino bill's chances by implementing a special task force.

Gambling is generally banned in Japan, except for horse and motor sport racing, lotteries, and pachinko. The latter is a sort of hybrid pinball-slot machine game that pays out winnings in balls that are widely traded for tokens and later sold for cash.