A prominent Japanese casino school formed after Japan legalized commercial gambling in 2018 has closed.
The purpose of the Japan Casino Academy was to contribute to the development of the country's gaming industry by training table game dealers.Students prepared for everything from shuffling, sizing, and cutting decks of cards to dealing a variety of popular games such as baccarat, mini-baccarat, blackjack, poker, and roulette.
The school seized the opportunity when a gambling law was passed by the Japanese Diet in July 2018. The Act on Development of Specified Complex Tourist Facility Areas was backed by then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.He wanted Japan to become a more tourism-focused global destination.
The Casino Act authorized as many as three integrated resort (IR) casino complexes nationwide.Four years later, Prime Minister Abe was assassinated and passed away.The casino has not yet opened and no casino plan has been approved by the central government.
Japan Casino Academy has trained hundreds of aspiring table game dealers, but none have landed a job in Japan. Inside Asian Gaming announced this week that the training center had filed for bankruptcy after enrollments dropped significantly since 2018 and students complained about the quality of the programme.
industry implosion
Things looked bright when Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party chose to introduce casinos.It is a support to fulfill Prime Minister Abe's wish to create new tax revenue and employment.
The world's leading casino operators were all enthusiastic about the opportunity.Any major casino operator would have seriously considered obtaining one of the three IR licenses in Japan.
Las Vegas Sands, Caesars Entertainment, Hard Rock International, Galaxy Entertainment, Melco Resorts, Wynn Resorts, Mohegan Sun, SJM Resorts, Genting Group and others were considering bidding.But when Sands withdrew due to the pandemic and Japan appeared to lag behind in deciding on gaming rules and regulations, there was a chain reaction.
Not only have other casino companies decided to withdraw from Japan, but so have the prefectures and municipalities that had previously shown interest.As a result, only two prefectures, Osaka and Nagasaki, remained as candidate sites.Osaka Prefecture and Nagasaki Prefecture.
MGM Resorts and Osaka are working on a $90 billion casino resort, while Nagasaki is working on a $32 billion IR with Casino Austria.
A lost bet for students
For many students who paid for Japan Casino Gakuin, the time and money were a lost bet.
Japan Casino Academy was never cheap for students.The premium course, which includes all table games and basic training, was 150 million yen ($11,000). According to IAG, the academy posted annual sales of around ¥1 million (US$2000) before business slowed and classrooms emptied.
Japan's casino industry is still many years away.Casino Austria hopes to complete the Nagasaki IR by 2028. MGM has said it won't open the Osaka development until 2029.
Bakara-chanWhy don't Japan use tax money for things that are good for Japan before scattering tax money overseas?
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