Wakayama assembly special committee rejects IR plan bill

Wakayama Prefecture's assembly rejected a bill to apply to the national government for an integrated resort (IR) license, in a plenary vote on April 20, 2022. The vote was 18 in favor and 22 against, by secret ballot¹. The rejection means the prefecture cannot submit its development plan to the national government before the April 28 deadline, and the Wakayama IR plan returns to the drawing board¹.

The plan covered an IR including a casino on the artificial island of Wakayama Marina City in Wakayama City¹. The assembly had been in extraordinary session since the previous week, deliberating the bill the prefecture submitted to apply for national approval of its development plan¹.

At a special committee vote on April 19, members raised repeated objections, including that the funding plan was uncertain, and the committee rejected the bill¹.

The full assembly then took up the bill on April 20 and voted it down¹.

What it means for players

Japan does not have a casino open yet, so the vote does not change anything anyone can play today. The IR framework allows casinos only inside integrated resorts approved by the national government, and Wakayama was one of the prefectures seeking approval. With its application now impossible before the deadline, the prefecture that would have hosted one of the country's first casino floors is out of the current round. What happens to any other bids, and whether Wakayama can try again in a later window, has not been reported.

What happens next

The April 28 deadline for submitting a plan to the national government will pass without an application from Wakayama¹. The prefecture's IR plan returns to the drawing board¹. No further steps have been reported.

For background on how Japan's casino resorts are licensed and who can enter them, see Casinos and Integrated Resorts in Asia: Who Can Enter, What You Can Play and the Rules Inside and Can I Gamble in Japan?.