Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | November 2010 20 an advisory board called the Bipartisan Legal Movement for the Promotion of International Tourism, told the London-based Financial Times it would take six months of discussions for a formal casino bill to be introduced to the Diet in 2011. “If Congress [sic] approves the bill, things will start moving very quickly,” suggested Dr Mihara. He said two ‘integrated tourism zones’ were under discussion for licensing by the government, with Tokyo, Yokohama, Hokkaido and Okinawa among the locations being considered. Even if national politicians do have the will to generate economic growth via casinos, the revolving door of Japanese politics hardly makes life easy for them. Lack of will? In December 2009, Kazuo Okada, a Japanese businessmen who made his fortune from supplying equipment to the pachinko industry, gave Bloomberg a stark assessment of the political situation. Mr Okada’s words carry special weight, given that as the head of Aruze, the slot and electronic gaming machine maker, and as a major shareholder of Wynn Resorts, he has as much to gain as anyone from liberalisation. “In Japan, politicians are very weak in showing the will to do something,” said Mr Okada. “Casinos should be opened, against the backdrop of employment and tax revenue problems,” he added. Mr Okada’s point about taxes is a pressing one. Between April and October 2009, tax revenue in Japan fell 22% according to Bloomberg . Some analysts suggest that was principally a product of the economy slowing down, but there are other factors at work. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, at the time of the population census of 2005, 20.1% of the country’s 127.8 million people were aged 65 or over. And by the time this year’s census is collated, it’s expected that the greying of Japan (and thus the reduction in the tax base) will have accelerated, in likelihood exacerbated by the country’s political opposition to mass immigration by foreign workers to cover the demographic gap. Since Mr Okada made his observation in late 2009, the country has had two different prime ministers. From the time the pro- economic reform and pro-casino prime minister Junichiro Koizumi stepped down fromhis third term in September 2006, Japan has seen four prime ministers come and go. How can governments lasting on average only one year possibly find the time and political will to put a casino law at the top of their legislative agenda, when they barely have a grip on the reins of power? It’s a question the casino industry will no doubt be asking next time someone heralds the ‘imminent’ arrival of Japanese casinos. Cover Story Kazuo Okada—not impressed with staying power of Japanese politicians Cannibal Lecture Fears that Malaysia’s only casino would have its business gobbled up by Singapore may have been overplayed MALAYSIA M alaysia is home to one of the oldest casinos in Asia, yet in the medium to long term, the future of casino gaming within the country is unclear. The majority Muslim population are barred from entering the gaming areas at Resorts World Genting (RWG), formerly known as Genting Highlands Resort. And while Malaysia is a moderate Muslim country, the fact that Genting’s casino licence has been renewed only on a six month rolling basis since its inception in the late 1960s may say something about the official ambivalence that exists toward the gaming industry generally. Some good news is that the four-decades-plus experience of the parent company Genting Berhad in running and marketing gaming operations to non-Muslim Malaysians and foreigners visiting Genting Highlands has paid dividends in its new Singapore operation. There, Genting owns and operates—via its local unit Genting Singapore—Resorts World Sentosa (RWS), the first ever legal casino to open in the Lion City.