Inside Asian Gaming

inside asian gaming November 2014 42 Hopes Fade for Japan Casino Bill A bill to legalize casinos in Japan may not reach a vote in the current session of the Diet in the face of stubborn opposition within Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s parliamentary majority and with the prime minister himself, the bill’s biggest backer, weakened by political scandal. Takeshi Iwaya, who heads the governing Liberal Democratic Party’s pro-casino caucus in the Diet, told reporters he would “ensure progress” on the bill this year, a Bloomberg report said. But other members of the caucus separately told Reuters the bill doesn’t have the votes to pass and will be shelved until the next regular session, which begins in January. But even that looks problematic, according to the same sources, because lawmakers will be consumed with national defense, the budget and the Fukushima recovery, among other key issues. “If they can’t pass it now, I doubt whether they’ll ever be able to pass it,” one of them said. The Diet adjourns for 2014 the end of this month. Mr Abe has cast legalization as a tool to energize the country’s moribund economy, promoting casinos as a boost for foreign tourism and investment. Analysts generally believe the market could be the second-largest in the world, capable of generating upwards of US$15 in annual gaming revenue out of the gate from resorts in Tokyo and Osaka and a handful of outlying tourist regions. The prospects have attracted an A-list of global operators—Las Vegas Sands, MGM Resorts International, Melco Crown Entertainment, Wynn Resorts and Caesars Entertainment among them—all vowing to invest billions to win licenses. Despite this, polls show public support to be mixed at best, and Tokyo Gov. Yoichi Masuzoe, whose city is wrestling with the costs and logistical difficulties of preparing for the 2020 Summer Olympics, is decidedly cool. Komeito, the LDP’s Buddhist-backed coalition partner, has been outspoken in opposition, refusing to give in on members’ concerns about gambling addiction, crime and other potential social ills. The LDP controls the Diet’s lower House of Representatives, but Komeito’s support would be critical to getting the bill through the upper House of Councilors, where the LDP doesn’t have a majority on its own and the opposition Democratic Party of Japan is strong. Mr Abe himself has become a problem as well, his administration severely weakened, some say irredeemably, by the recent resignations of his Trade and Industry and Justice ministers in connection with alleged campaign-funding illegalities. “Abe’s support will decline,” one highly placed observer told Reuters , “and policy implementation will not go smoothly.” Singapore: The Online Exodus Begins With the ink still fresh on Singapore’s online gambling ban, operators are already moving to exit the market. The Remote Gambling Act, a tough new measure incorporating steep fines and jail terms for violators, doesn’t take effect until next year, but two leading operators, Bet365 and IBC Bet, have informed their registered users in the city-state that their accounts will be closed within days, and two other major names, 888 and SBOBET, are no longer accepting new Singapore account holders. “It is an administrative and compliance issue that they would prefer to deal with sooner rather than later,” attorney Matt Pollins with the Asia branch of the gaming-facing firm of Olswang told Channel News Asia . The act, whichwas passed in parliament last month, criminalizes the entire spectrum of remote gambling and backs it up with fines of S$20,000 to S$500,000 and up to seven years in jail. The implications are far-reaching and not entirely clear at this point. Internet service providers, for example, may be required to block access to various sites, and offshore services that do not “geo- block” Singapore might need to take extra steps to comply with the new law to avoid inadvertently committing a crime, while companies that develop and license gaming software and provide maintenance and support services to operators, if they have a physical presence in Singapore, may also find themselves under the gun. REGIONAL BRIEFS Moving out—Bet365 and IBC Bet have already informed their Singapore users that their accounts will be closed. Other leading names are monitoring developments. UK- based bookmaking giant William Hill told Channel News Asia it will cease all services to Singapore residents once the law takes effect. PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker room, said it is following the situation as well and “will inform players of changes that will affect them directly, and the players’ funds will be made accessible for withdrawal”. The act exempts under certain conditions non-profits that