Yakuza Make Plans To Target Japanese Casino Industry
Gaming analysts that Japan will become one of the hottest markets in the world once its three integrated casino resorts get up and running. That is going to take a few more years as Japan is still working on its gaming regulations and are yet to confirm who will be three casino operators that get awarded with casino licenses.
However, things are moving in the right direction as interested casino operators are sending in their proposals along with the amount they are willing to invest to develop these casino resorts.
To give you an idea of the money involved, both MGM Resorts and Las Vegas Sands Corp have agreed to invest over $10 billion. These casinos resorts are expected to be up and running before the end of 2024.
The term Yakuza is used in Japan to refer to the mafia or organized crime syndicates. Japanese authorities are aware that the Yakuza are very interested in the multi-billion dollar casino industry that is about to open and are eager to get their share of the pie. The Yakuza have always had their hands in the gambling industry and run a huge illegal gambling operation that finances a lot of their activities.
The licensed gambling industry will pose a threat in many ways to their illegal activities and as a result you can be sure they will look to exploit any secure loopholes at these licensed casinos to get in and establish their operations.
The Yakuza could run a variety of different operations at the integrated resorts including money laundering, prostitution, drug trafficking, loan sharking and extortion. Given the fact that the Japanese police will be expecting such activities, the Yakuza could come up with different plans to evade the authorities.
One of these could be online hacking where they get access to the casino’s list of customers, personal and financial data. The Yakuza has close to five years to figure out how they are going to target the licensed casino industry and will use innovative technology and stealth tactics to evade the security and surveillance measures adopted by Japan’s casinos.
Casinos Will Have To Prepare For Yakuza
The list of international casino operators vying for a Japanese casino license are very well experienced and know that they will be the target of the Yakuza.
While the Japanese police are there to offer protection, casino operators will know that they have to go the extra mile in hiring, training and equipping their own internal security to keep the Yakuza in check.
David WalkerAuthor
David is our resident 'down under' contributor, letting us know what is going on in the southern hemisphere, he is also keen blackjack player
