Would legalized gambling ease Japan's economic woes?

[AsahinaKimi]

TOKYO —

In the wake of the devastating March 11 catastrophe, Japan’s economy is confronted with the prospect of not just an economic recession, but long-term contraction that threatens to undo decades of growth. Estimates of the funding required for Tohoku’s economic recovery are in the range of 10 to 20 trillion yen, and as the country has already accumulated up a huge fiscal deficit, a tax increase appears unavoidable.

But higher taxes, warns Weekly Playboy (May 2) are almost certain to have the effect of reduced consumer spending, cutting into business profits and resulting in lower tax revenues.

As another option, the magazine proposes legalizing gambling casinos, an idea long debated in Japan but for various reasons never adopted.

“Setting up casinos in Tohoku would contribute to employment and tax revenues,” asserts Takashi Kiso, head of the Tokyo-based International Casino Institute Ltd, a consultancy established in January of this year. “Taxes from their proceeds would go to recovery, and no outlays of public funds would be required to build or operate them. They would definitely pave the way to recovery.”

http://www.japantoday.com/category/top-in-category/view/would-legalized-gambling-ease-japans-economic-woes

[Hannah Bell]

1. they have legalized gambling: pachinko!

but casinos are a sign of declining economies, imo.

[AsahinaKimi]

2. Yes..

And as someone commented, the pachinko parlors may go against the idea of legalized
gambling casinos.

[DCKit]

3. Sure. It's not as if gambling ever destroyed anyone's economic situation.

:sarcasm: