The final day of the 11th annual Asian Casinos Executive Summit is mainly devoted to the online gaming industry and sports betting. The conference, organized by Terrapinn at the Grand Hyatt in Singapore, is billed as being a converging point for key international and Asian land and online casino operators and other stakeholders of the leisure and entertainment sectors. The claim is backed by an extensive list of key speakers, including Dr Toru Mihara, Advisor for the Casino Study Group of Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party.

In a keynote speech on Monday afternoon, Dr Mihara presented a progress report on the legalization of casinos in Japan. From the point of view of gaming, Japan has long been seen as the icing on the cake for prospective Asian operators. Japan has a higher GDP per capita than the USA and the highest in Asia. Add to this the fact that the population of 128 million enjoys spending its disposable income, and it is easy to see why the big players in the casino industry would line up for a piece of the action.

Japan’s first casino is unlikely to see the light of day until after 2010 but the government is considering issuing two or three licences for casino resorts. The country has first to lift its ban on casinos, which may take time to clear Japanese legislation. Dr Mihara has said that he will present a draft legal framework to legislators in 2008. The Japanese government is changing its stance on casinos following the success of Macau and the potential boost to Singapore’s tourism by two integrated resorts. Authorities in Tokyo and Osaka have already petitioned for a lifting of the ban.

The pachinko industry in Japan may not be too keen to see casinos in the country. An estimated 25% of Japanese adults play the machines and although it is illegal to exchange prizes for cash the practice is widespread. The association of pachinko operations with organized crime has, for the most part, been broken but some elements remain.

At ACE 2006 yesterday afternoon the President and CEO of International Risk Ltd, Stephen Vickers, spoke on combating money laundering and keeping organized crime out of Asian gaming. He advised zero tolerance by gambling operators, commenting that whilst Singapore may run super-clean casino resorts some surrounding countries did not have the same standards. International Risk, recently acquired by FTI Consulting and founded by Stephen Vickers who spent 18 years with the Royal Hong Kong Police, is headquartered in Hong Kong with branches in Tokyo, Singapore and Beijing. It is a pre-eminent risk mitigation firm that provides comprehensive investigative and business risk solutions. (E-07.26.06)

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