Casino

A Casino is a facility that has the primary function of housing and accommodating certain types of gambling activities.

Since 1907, gambling, and by extension casinos, has been prohibited under Article 185 of the Penal Code in Japan, with the exception of betting on something for "momentary amusement" or specific events or permitted sports (horse racing, bicycle racing, powerboat racing and motorcycle racing (all of which are run by local governments or government corporations)). The public lottery and Japanese Football Pools are also under special gambling laws and are not privately run.

Article 186, Section 2 of the Penal Code further declared that a person who runs a place for gambling or organises a group of habitual gamblers for the purpose of profit shall be punished by imprisonment for no less than three months but not more than five years. Due to this, legally permitted gambling under the current Japanese law was limited to those run by licensed public and government entities until the 27th July, 2018, when the Japanese Diet passed the Act for Development of Specified "Complex Tourist Facilities Areas" (also referred to as an "Integrated Resort (IR)"), which allowed gambling to be operated by private entities in predesignated locations within Japan. These locations are allowed to include a casino.

Trivia

 * The Kobold Casino was a concept casino a branch of the Japanese government had hired Kobold Industries to develop, headed by Polt. However, while a concept casino was built, Polt's concern about the moral implications of operating a casino ultimately led to the project's burning out.
 * Under Article 185 of the Japanese Penal Code, a person who gambles shall be punished by either a predetermined fine or a petty fine of not more than ¥500,000 (depending on the situation), unless the item that is placed on the bet is that of momentary amusement.
 * In Japanese law, the term 'gamble' is understood as 'an act where more than two persons bet on an outcome of a contest of chance to contend for a prize in the form of property or asset'. Pachinko parlors and other gaming venues evade this law as they do not offer money, property or recognised assets as prizes but instead exchange the value of a player's winnings on items such as cigarettes, chocolate bars, pencils, lighters, and the like.