The head of Japan’s expert panel currently drafting recommendations for the government’s proposed IR Implementation Bill says visitors could be deterred if forced to submit their social security numbers before entering casinos.
In an interview with Bloomberg, lawmaker Takeshi Iwaya stated that the nation’s Integrated Resorts need to be “friendly” to customers and warned against imposing heavy-handed restrictions that would likely impact upon visitation levels.
“It’s important to make sure access doesn’t become extremely restricted,” Mr Iwaya said when asked about the proposed requirement of social security numbers. “These will be leisure and entertainment facilities, so they must be friendly to customers and we mustn’t go too far.”
Mr Iwaya’s comments follow calls for Japanese residents to be granted entry to casinos only if they provide a special ID card known as “My Number” with a chip containing data including the owner’s social security number. “My Number” cards were first introduced to Japan in early 2016 but have been slow to take hold with only 9% of the population currently in possession.
“Even if we use them, we must avoid any data leaks or having people’s activities monitored by the government,” Iwaya told Bloomberg. “If enjoying gambling is treated as a bad thing, the integrated resorts won’t be a success.”
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