LDP lawmaker says ID checks would deter gamblers

Tuesday 4th of July 2017

A lawmaker from the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in Japan has spoken out against the proposed requirement for locals to submit their Japanese IDs in order to enter casinos, with concerns it would act as a deterrent.

In an interview with Bloomberg earlier this week, LDP lawmaker Takeshi Iwaya said that it is important to ensure that access didn’t become “extremely restricted.”

"These will be leisure and entertainment facilities, so they must be friendly to customers and we mustn’t go too far,” he said.

Instead, Iwaya suggests passports and driver’s licenses as alternate forms of ID that could be used.

Japan’s ID number system, named “My Number” has been unpopular with Japan’s privacy-prizing society. Only 9 percent of residents having obtained the cards as of May.

Other restrictions being proposed, as reported in June, include a limitation to the number of times that Japanese would be allowed to enter the casino over the span of a month, as well as a ban on casino advertisements outside the IR facility, a system for individuals and families to exclude problem gamblers, and various policies meant to combat the influence of organized crime and money laundering.

Speaking in the interview, Iwaya also called for the legal framework that would allow casinos to be opened in regions, as well as major cities.

The panel meets later Wednesday, according to Bloomberg.

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