Japan’s Casino Regulatory Commission released its draft casino regulations on Friday, outlining in more detail what operations of the nation’s first casinos will actually look like.
Release of the draft regulations comes more than four years after the IR Development Act was first passed into law in December 2016, and six months before the national government starts accepting applications from locations and their operator partners to be granted an IR license.
However, before the regulations – more specifically called the “Casino Administration Committee enforcement regulations draft pertaining to the Act on Promotion of Development of Specified Complex Tourist Facilities Areas” – are finalized, they will first be opened to public feedback.
The period for feedback is Friday 2 April 2021 to 9 Sunday May 2021 and allows for comment on many of the key regulations relating to Japan’s integrated resort development. Topics open for public comment cover three main areas:
- Casino regulations and rules governing specific fund transfers, credit, deposits and foreign exchange.
- How IT is used in respect to casino regulation and operations.
- The approval process for casino-related machine manufacturers and suppliers.
As reported by Inside Asian Gaming this week, the draft regulations also reveal nine games and 21 variants that will be allowed to operate on Japan’s casino floors. They are baccarat (2 types), blackjack (4 types), poker (8 types), roulette, Sic Bo, craps, Casino War, money wheel and pai gow. Electronic games are also approved.
Traditional Japanese games such as pachinko, pachislot and mahjong are not listed.