Japan begins unlocking casino market worth US$40b a year

JAPAN on Tuesday finally took the crucial first step towards having casinos - after a group of lawmakers from three political parties submitted a bill to Parliament to legalise casino gambling in the world's third-largest economy.

The news would have cheered the major international casino operators such as Las Vegas Sands and MGM Resorts, which have long cast their eye on this relatively untapped gaming market, especially with Tokyo gearing up to host the 2020 Olympic Games.

Brokerage CLSA estimates that Japan is a market that could be worth as much as US$40 billion in annual revenue by the year 2025. That amount would easily make Japan the second-largest gambling hub in the world, just behind Macau.