The future of smoking at Atlantic City’s nine casinos remains uncertain as lawmakers continue to seek a way to patch the indoor smoking loophole. For as many as 17 years, this exemption in the New Jersey Smoke-Free Air Act, supported by the Democrats, has permitted AC’s casino properties to allow smoking in up to 25% of their gaming floor space.

The exemption has long been a subject of controversies, with some lawmakers seeking to patch it up for years now. The smoking exemption also continues to attract disgruntlement from anti-smoking activists who claim that the current law jeopardizes the health of casino workers.

Two measures, namely Senate Bill 264 and Assembly Bill 2151, seek to put an end to the current loophole and align the casinos to other properties where indoor smoking is prohibited. The measures have been in limbo for many months but have enough support to go to Governor Phil Murphy.

Murphy has previously expressed his support of the measures, saying that he would sign them into law if they reach his desk. Despite the strong support, however, the Democratic Party continues to block the measures.

The Ban Has Many Opponents

New reports claim that the measures may soon be taken out of limbo as New Jersey Senate President Nicholas Scutari will allegedly work on Senate Bill 264 following the November 7 elections.

Anti-smoking parties are signed up for an uphill battle against the Democratic leadership, which hopes to retain its majority in the Senate and Assembly where it holds 25 and 46 seats respectively.

In addition, anti-smoking parties will need to overcome the strong opposition from casino companies, which believe that a smoking ban would hurt their revenues, forcing them to cut as many as 2,500 jobs. Unite Here has compared the smoking ban to suicide, alleging that it would cause AC casinos’ GGR to drop by 11%.

However, proponents of the ban have argued that there is not enough evidence to suggest that the measure would have such a profound effect on the local casino industry.

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Political bettors are putting their money behind Joe Biden to win the upcoming Presidential elections. While the incumbent President is yet to be officialized as the Democratic Party’s official nominee, he seems to be a likely choice.

This news comes as President Biden announced his decision to fight for another four years in office. While still unexciting, his approval ratings continue to improve, as attested by statistics specialists.

When declaring his decision to take part in the 2024 elections, Biden said that there is an ongoing battle for the soul of America and its citizens’ rights. He believes that he can lead the Democrats to victory, helping them “finish the job” that was started in his first four years in office.

While the true political wagering activity is yet to begin, Biden’s announcement saw PredictIt users buying shares of Biden’s victory next year.

Bettors Brace for a Second Biden vs. Trump Bout

PredictIt is an online prediction market that offers exchanges on political and financial events. Users can bet in the form of buying shares and then redeem them once the outcome has occurred. A victory can yield its owner $1 per share.

After Biden’s announcements, his shares experienced a temporary spike in price, increasing to 49 cents per share.

At the time of this writing, Biden’s shares are trading for 47 each, since the excitement following Biden’s announcement has dissipated. However, the incumbent President continues to maintain a significant lead over his competitors.

Currently, Donald Trump shares are trading for 34 cents each. Far behind President Biden and the ex-President is Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis with a price of 15 cents per share. Next up is California Gov. Gavin Newsom with 6 cents per share, followed by VP Kamala Harris with 5 cents and the Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg with 2 cents.

The take from these statistics is that bettors are convinced that the former POTUS Trump will get to have his rematch against Biden in the following elections. While neither Biden nor Trump is certain to become their respective parties’ candidates, there is ample chance that Americans are in for another Trump versus Biden showdown.

Meanwhile, PredictIt’s situation in the USA continues to be precarious. Regulators continue their efforts to kick the political exchange from the country but are met with fierce resistance on PredictIt’s side. And, as it turned out in March, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission might be in more trouble than PredictIt.

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Public opinion in Osaka, Japan is on the rise in support of an integrated casino resort in the prefecture according to an exit poll conducted over the weekend by the local news outlet, Mainichi Shimbun. The survey was taken by Japan’s oldest newspaper over the weekend as the Osaka Mayoral Election was held as part of the 20th Unified Local Elections in the country.

Plans call for Japan’s first casino to be built as part of a large integrated resort (IR) on Yumeshima island – a man-made land mass that is part of Konohana-ku, one of the 24 wards of Osaka, Japan.

According to the trusted outlet, the survey queried 6,190 voters as they left 145 polling places. A majority, 53% said they supported the IR development while 45% said they were opposed to it.

Osakans Want the Integrated Resort Casino

Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura was not shy about his support for the development and the issue was seen by many as a key element of his potential re-election which he handily won with more support for a second term than he garnered when he won the governorship the first time. He assumed office in April 2019.

According to a report on Inside Asia Gaming’s website, only a third of those who voted to re-elect the governor were opposed to the development.

Hirofumi Yoshimura was endorsed by Osaka Ishin no Kai (Japan Reformation Association). He is the Deputy Leader of Nippon Ishin no Kai. Osaka (city) is the capital and most populated city in the Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan with a population of 2.7 million.

Also endorsed by Osaka Ishin no Kai was political upstart Hideyuki Yosokawa who was elected mayor of the city. His victory was more robust than that of the governor however with a record 2.44 million votes – the most ever cast for a mayoral candidate in Osaka. His margin of victory was about two-million votes over his closest competitor.

The party also won 55 seats on the city council and retained its majority.

Governor Yoshimura was supported by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party as well. He had stated earlier that he may resign as a representative if a majority was not maintained.

Hard Work Ahead for Next Four Years

Speaking to constituents after the election Yoshimura said, “I believe that we have received a certain amount of public support to promote the IR attraction. I want to work hard for the next four years with the strong desire to make Osaka grow.”

The prefecture and city tendered an application to the central government in early 2022. Partnering in the endeavor are MGM Resorts and the Japanese multinational ORIX Corporation, a publicly owned Tokyo-based international financial services company established in 1964. ORIX is listed on the Tokyo and New York Stock Exchanges.

When Japanese lawmakers finally passed legislation that was signed by the late Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, it was hoped by many that at least one IR would be approved and operating before the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics opened. However, deep-seated religious and secular political opposition to gambling remained and the fight was taken to a local level where anti-casino voices, mixed with complicated cultural and political machinations won out and drove most casino operators away from the fight.

Current projections, reportedly affirmed by the Governor, project an IR opening in 2029. Investment costs have been estimated to be as high as $10 billion to complete the project.

Out of a large field of deep pockets and top-tier global casino operators that initially vied for approval, MGM’s Osaka bid is seen by many as the last hope to build not only a world-class casino resort in Japan but the country’s only casino.

Various numbers have been tossed about since long before the Diet and Cabinet codified gambling liberalization in Japan. The latest projections indicate that the MGM/Orix consortium’s development could attract as many as 20 million visits each year and generate revenue approaching US$4 billion (JPY 520 billion).

Source: Exit poll shows majority support for Osaka IR as governor wins re-election, Inside Asian Gaming, April 11

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