Japan's plan to legalise casino gambling is likely to be delayed yet again, a senior official said, dealing a new blow to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Las Vegas Sands, Genting Singapore, MGM Resorts, Melco Crown Entertainment and others are waiting in the wings as potential investors in what analysts say is one of the world’s biggest untapped markets, worth tens of billions of dollars a year.
But parliament was unlikely to have enough time to pass the controversial law during the current session, which ends on November 30, the coalition official said.
"The hurdle is quite high for both lower and upper houses to enact it" during the current session, Keiichi Ishii, policy chief of Komeito, the junior partner in Abe's coalition government, said, adding that there was concern among some Komeito members over the effects of gambling on society.
