Events
IAGA SUMMIT San Francisco 2019
AG Burnett, Partner, Gaming & Administrative Law Group, McDonald Carano
A.G. Burnett is a partner in the Gaming & Administrative Law Group with McDonald Carano. Due to his extensive experience working in and with regulatory agencies in Nevada and throughout the world, he is uniquely positioned to advise regulatory agencies, federal agencies and others in meeting and crafting regulatory standards, as well as representing gaming industry clients in navigating regulatory requirements in Nevada and beyond. Mr. Burnett is also skilled in assisting companies with their compliance programs and compliance obligations. He most recently served as the Chairman of the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) from 2012 through 2017 and as a member of the Governor’s Gaming Policy Committee. During his service with the NGCB, he worked extensively with the regulators of other gaming jurisdictions on matters of shared interest relating to the gaming industry and its growth throughout the world.
“The advent of integrated casino resorts in Japan will herald a new era for entertainment and tourism there. With that, however, there are some new risk areas for the regulators and the government to consider.” AG Burnett, Partner, Gaming & Administrative Law Group, McDonald Carano
Potential risk considerations for gaming operators in Japan
Everyone in the gaming industry is watching Japan. Cities in Japan are pushing to win integrated casino resort gaming approvals, and gaming operators are working hard to join them. Te excitement has extended to lending institutions, construction companies, and entertainment companies as well, since the potential gaming market in this country of over 128 million people. Te numbers reveal why this excitement is justified.
Of those 128 million people, almost 78 per cent are over the age of 25. Nearly 92 per cent of the population lives in major urban areas, such as Tokyo, and in this highly-educated society there is a low level (3.6 per cent) of unemployment, and the poverty line hovers at around 16 per cent.
Further, the government, a parliamentary constitutional monarchy, is very stable and well- organised. I suspect that the Japanese will create a well-regulated and successful gaming industry. While I was Chairman of the Nevada Gaming Control Board, and I am sure after that, many members of the Japanese government and prefects came to Nevada to study gaming regulation. Members of the Diet, dignitaries from many of the prefectures, and other government representatives all seemed very keen and studious when they met with GCB officials. Teir questions were always very thoughtful and considerate; it was readily apparent that they were going to do things only after a cautious and deliberative approach. Te fact that they were collectively taking part in this process several years
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ago, when gaming would still not be realised for several years (Osaka wishes to begin casino operations concurrent with the World Expo in 2025, for example) speaks highly of this very thoughtful approach.
Te advent of integrated casino resorts in Japan will herald a new era for entertainment and tourism there. With that, however, there are some new risk areas for the regulators and the government to consider.
Overall, Japan is an incredibly safe country with an incredibly good infrastructure. Japan’s national security budget, administered by the Ministry of Defense, is under one per cent of its GDP. Tis small budget, limited for historical reasons, stands at around 120th in the entire world. Since it is situated near China, Russia, and the Koreas, various potential tension areas sit nearby, but on the whole the country remains safely situated. Should tensions between Taiwan and China rise, or issues with North Korea become more concrete in a military sense, tourism and even the safety of the Japanese islands could be
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