Inside Asian Gaming

IAG JAN 2021年1月 亞博匯 29 封面故事 provider 500.com . IAG ran no less than a dozen stories throughout 2020 on what came to be known as the “500.com scandal,” in which two Japanese- nationality 500.com advisors, Masahiko Konno and Katsunori Nakazato, received suspended sentences for offering bribes to Diet member Tsukasa Akimoto, who was Cabinet Office Deputy Minister in charge of IRs at the time. Two other 500.com officers, Akihito Awaji and Fumihiko Sato, received prison sentences for attempted witness bribery in relation to the case. Akimoto himself is still awaiting trial and vehemently maintains his innocence. The 500.com case tarnished the global IR industry in the eyes of Japanese stakeholders, which was unfair given that 500.com is not an IR operator in any way, shape or form, and given its lack of experience, really had no business being involved in the Japanese IR process at all. A combination of the pandemic and the 500.com scandal delayed the issuing of the Japan national government’s long-awaited Basic Policy, which was finally issued in draft form on 9 October and then as a finalized document on 18 December. The revised Basic Policy for IRs saw additions in three areas, none of them a surprise. There were increased health, hygiene and safety requirements – clearly a response to the global pandemic; updated rules for contacts between government and operators in reaction to the 500.com scandal; and additional measures addressing problem gambling, long a major concern of the Japanese public and some government stakeholders. 另一個於2020年影響著日本IR行業的關鍵因素是，中國線上 體育彩票營運商500.com的一連串事件。《亞博匯》去年已就這所 謂的「500.com醜聞」發布了不下十多個報道，其中兩名500.com 的日本籍顧問紺野昌彥和仲里勝憲因向日本眾議員、時任掌管IR 行業的內閣府副大臣秋元司行賄而被判緩刑。另外兩位500.com 職員淡路明人和佐藤文彥亦因與此企圖行賄案相關而被判入獄， 而秋元司仍在等待審判並堅稱自己是清白的。 在日本相關利益持份者的眼中，500.com案損害了全球IR業 的名聲，但這看法是不公平的，因為500.com從任何形式上來看， 都絕不是IR營運商，而且鑑於其經驗，500.com實在與日本IR競投 完全沾不上邊。 疫情加上500.com醜聞，令日本政府延遲公布令人期待已久 的IR行業基本政策，該政策草案最終於10月9日公布，並於12月18 日獲最終定稿。