Japan’s government has summarized a draft for a three-year basic plan for problem gambling countermeasures, including the research and implementation of facial recognition systems to prevent under-age entry.
The draft, completed on Thursday, also proposes the removal of all ATMs from pachinko parlors and locations that take bets such as horse races and keirin bike races.
A cabinet decision will be made on the plan in April pending 20 days of public comment collection online, which ends on 26 March.
This draft is based on the Problem Gambling Basic Countermeasure Act passed in 2018 in anticipation of an increase in problem gambling with the introduction of IRs in Japan.
Melco Resorts Chairman and CEO Lawrence Ho was the first to propose facial recognition measures in Japan’s IRs, revealing in December 2017 that his company was developing “the world’s most advanced facial recognition technology for enabling responsible gaming and security.”
The government subsequently confirmed they were considering such a measure last March.
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