Macau Business Daily – Japan has long been touted as an attractive gaming market with a large and relatively rich population base. The country may generate US$10 billion (79.9 billion patacas) revenue a year if it opens up, Union Gaming Group LLC estimated.
Sceptics on the operations side of the industry say that Japan – with its distinct culture and low penetration of English language skills – is likely to focus its casino offer mainly on domestic players.
They also point out that Japanese VIP table players have not been seen in other Asian casino markets in any big numbers since the export-driven boom of the 1980s. They add that pachinko – a machine-based game unique to Japan and highly popular there – is classified under Japanese law not as a casino game of chance but as a “speculative pastime’.
Additionally, while pachinko produces very impressive turnover (i.e. ‘handle’), it doesn’t have the sort of house ‘hold’ rates (i.e. ‘win’ net of prizes paid out) seen in casino slot gaming.
Optimists point out that in Japan there is currently an illegal and untaxed domestic market in Japan for casino-style table games played at what are known euphemistically as ‘bridge clubs’.
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