A Japanese lawmaker backing a bill to legalize casinos said he expects it to win Lower House approval this month and that the gambling resorts would be in major cities and charge local residents an entry fee.
"We want to finish up in the Lower House in the first half of October and send it on to the Upper House," Koichi Hagiuda, secretary-general of a lawmaker's group promoting the casino bill and an aide to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, said in an interview on Monday.
Backers of the bill have said gambling resorts would boost tourism ahead of the 2020 Summer Olympics. Casino operators are considering investing billions of dollars in what could become Asia's second-largest gaming hub after Macau, which is currently the world's biggest.