Understanding Japan's Latest Casino Regulations

Japan is a wild and wonderful place, and more recently is being hit on by the news for its current casino regulations. Although Japan is usually cracking down on gambling in general as the majority of games are illegal, Japan is now opening up some games that will eventually be open for all to play. With help from the team at Casino Guide Japan, let's take a look at some of Japan’s latest casino regulations. 

Legalizing and Easing Restrictions on 9 (21 variants) of Games

Japan is also planning to legalize some game types that you would often find in a casino. Games such as baccarat, blackjack, poker, roulette, Sic Bo, craps, Casino War, money wheel and Pai Gow. 

Legalizing these games is still within public feedback stages and how Japan feels about this change as a country, but soon the Gambling Commission in Japan will make a decision to either lift all, some, or none of these games and put them into a legal casino game to have in Japan.  

Casino-floor Policies

Part of the Casino regulations, there are stipulations about measurement of players. Japan mainly banned gambling to avoid any one person losing all their money – and with this Japan may be issuing casinos and other gambling spaces specific policies to prevent people from doing this.

This may include clocks in visible view to avoid people spending more time at a table than they should. Other time-related factors may be the amount of time someone can spend at any once table before needing to leave or take a break. ATMs will also not be on the casino floor so people can not withdraw more than they wanted to before going to gamble. 

Gambling is also prohibited to be marketed if these games regulations are lifted. Another way of saying this is that Japan will not allow companies and casinos to promote gambling that may arouse a Japanese citizen to gamble his or her money. These are all stipulations at the moment but may very well be drafted into a legal requirement for casinos.  

Casino’s will have Ban/Restriction Authority

Casino’s will be told by Japanese authorities that they are able to ban a visitor to the casino if they feel they are addicted. This is another measure that needs to be taken to protect the Japanese population. These can range from a year's permanent bans from the casino floor, or simply restricting how often someone can come to the casino – this is to be written out in detail by casinos and the Japanese gambling commission.

Casino Owners / People of Interest will be Subject to Background Checks

Just like in the UK and US, casino owners and major stakeholders in the casino will need to undergo very specific, and detailed background checks to ensure that their means to run a casino is not ill intended. This is so that IR operators uphold social credibility when running and operating a casino in Japan. From details released by the Japanese commission for gambling, this would include detailed investigations into the financial records and history along with any criminal activity. Many casino owners may not pass this, and therefore may not pass the requirements to welcome the newly legalized game modes into their casinos.

Items in Discussion

There are, however, still some items that the IR expansion is working on. These include the approval process for casino-related machinery and manufactures to ensure that the machines are not rigged in the house’s favor.

Three is also still some regulatory issues that are being discussed such as lines of credit for a gambling/casino entity, deposits and even tourists from other countries using the gambling. All of these items are still being discussed by the IR and Japan, following the legalization feedback they gather from the Japanese citizens.

There is also a small amount of discussion in relation to how I.T. systems will be used. This is not only to ensure cheating and house-edge rigging is being kept out of the casino, but also from a security standpoint, especially with the digital games that you can find in the Casino. The Casino Administration Committee will be discussing this, and will hopefully find a decision to this sometime in May, or June. (Note: We don’t expect to see any of these restrictions till early 2022.)

In conclusion, we can expect to see some more news floating around Japan in relation to the status of these regulatory changes, and how they will impact both Japanese locals and travelers from afar. Regardless, Japan will be leading a charge for Asia’s gambling front and will hopefully gain popularity when the Japanese citizens enjoy these soon to be legalized games.