The subsidiaries and shareholders of any operator looking to win a Japan casino license would undergo “thorough probes” to ensure they had no hidden links to “yakuza organizations and other antisocial forces,” according to Japanese national newspaper The Yomiuri Shimbun.
Citing an obtained draft copy of the government’s regulation policy, the Japanese media giant said licenses awarded to operators in any Japan Integrated Resort would have to be renewed regularly with operators to undergo strict screening each time.
“To prevent members of yakuza organizations and other antisocial forces from getting involved in the casino business, the draft stipulates that thorough probes will be carried out, focusing on such factors as business relationships of the operators — including their subsidiaries and shareholders — and relationships with those who might join the operations, and whether there is debt involved,” the report said.
The draft regulations, which are due to be finalized by December, also stipulate that IR operators, “are required to have high morals, a sense of responsibility and a clean nature because they will be given a privileged status with exemption from the prohibition of gambling as a crime.”
If the Integrated Resort is under different ownership to the casino operator, the IR owner will also be required to obtain a license. The draft regulation says that a casino control commission will be established to oversee the controls and will include officials loaned from the National Police Agency.
“It is necessary to implement the background checks on an unlimited range as needed,” it said, noting in regards to the casino control commission that, “Sufficient investigative authority and manpower should be secured.”
The Yomiuri Shimbun said the IR Promotion Council tasked with setting the framework for the IR Implementation Bill had approved the draft regulation on Wednesday afternoon with the agreed points to be included when the final draft is compiled later this year.
