Report Reveals Komeito’s Demands for Casino Fee Equivalent to That of Singapore

According to the report published by the local news agency, Jiji Press, the junior coalition partner of the primary governing group in Japan, Komeito has asked the lawmakers to extend it a fee for casino entry nearly four times the figure that had been proposed initially. That being said, the Komeito’s requested entry fee for Integrated Resorts in Japan is apparently equivalent to that charged in the local casinos in Singapore for a 24-hour long access on a single entry.

While the casino entry fee in Singapore is around SGD100 or US$76, the Buddhist influenced political group in Japan, Komeito, has also made a demand for an entry fee of JPY8,000 or US$76 on an individual’s 24-hour access to the proposed Integrated casino resorts in the country.

After months-long discussion on the matter, the concerned regulatory bodies in Japan had put forth a proposition of levying an entry fee of JPY2,000 for a single entry 24-hour access to the proposed gaming and recreational venues in the country. The entry fee was to be charged from all the local residents and nationals residing in Japan. At the time, the largest governing body in Japan, the LDP or Liberal Democratic Party had come out in full support of the proposed entry fee in a parliamentary assembly.

However, according to the report published by the news agency, recently, the Komeito group released a new draft demanding a much higher figure as compared to the initially proposed casino entry fee. In its draft, the Komeito party reiterated that it had demanded a higher casino entry fee to ensure that the Japanese gambling industry is able to design a restrictive framework which is at par with the standards of the well-established gambling markets around the world.

In addition to this, the draft released by the Komeito group also calls for a restriction on the number of Integrated Resorts to be developed around the country to a maximum of two or three locations. However, the draft does not clarify if the limitation on the number of Integrated Resorts is to be exercised only in the first phase of liberalization, with a possibility of an expansion across more number of venues in the later stages. The Komeito’s draft also outlines an upper limit on the size of the gaming areas in the casinos at a maximum of 15,000 square meters.