First casino complex to be built in Osaka after ban was lifted despite fears about gambling addiction
Japan has approved a controversial plan to build the country’s first casino, after decades of debate fuelled by fears that an increase in tourist spending could be blighted by a rise in gambling addiction.
The casino complex, which will include restaurants, shops and entertainment facilities as part of an “integrated resort”, will be built in the western port city of Osaka, where senior politicians have pushed for its construction and rejected demands for a local referendum.
Authorities in Osaka hope the project will be completed in 2029 at an initial cost of ¥1.8tn ($13.5bn). The city’s bid was approved after “sufficient examination from various perspectives”, the transport minister, Teruo Saito, told reporters on Friday.
The prime minister, Fumio Kishida, said the complex would promote development in the wider Osaka region and “become a tourism base that will disseminate the charm of Japan to the world”.
The global casino industry and lawmakers from Kishida’s Liberal Democratic party spent years pushing for a change in the law to allow developers to build casinos in Japan, the world’s third-biggest economy.
Foreign casino operators lobbied Japanese authorities for access to a market that could generate huge profits, estimated by some analysts at $20bn a year if three casino complexes are built.
