Since Japan announced that it would change its strict gambling laws so as to attract rich Asian tourists, the most important casino operators have started to race for a place in the country’s vast market. Japan would be one of the last countries to joint the gambling boom that is taking place in the region.

“Nowadays casinos are not considered to be evil places, whereas they might have been considered so 20 years ago,” analyst Aaron Fischer explained. “Across Asia over the last few years you've been seeing legalization of casinos including in Singapore and Macau.”

Members of Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party are already working on proposals that would allow several huge Vegas-style casinos that could open their doors in a few years. “If we can create legal structures within one or two years to come, maybe in 2012 casinos in Japan will start to operate,” LDP’s Adviser Toru Mihara explained.

Although the main US casino operators are lobbying in Japan to secure lucrative contracts, local entertainment companies are also expected to get involved in the bidding for casino licenses.