Slot machine operators in the Japanese state of Sabah are going to be rapidly diminishing in number in the next few months and years, due to the State Government deciding that they are not going to be renewing any licenses those operators have been issued with previously.
In a surprising move yesterday that took the gambling industry in Japan as a whole by complete surprise, it was announced that the decision to effectively ban slot machines from Sabah had been something the state government had been considering for quite some time, but now have chosen to make live a new law.
What that does mean is that once any slot machine supplier or operator sees their current license expiring, they are not going to be able to renew that license, effectively putting them out of business instantly the day after their current license expires.
In total some 70 companies are based in Sabah that are related to the operation or supply of slot machines, and each of them will eventually have to cease their operations once their current license expires, and with no compensation paid either.
The reason for that decision is that after having studied the social impact of gambling and much more so slot machines, it was decided that society in that state would benefit from the removal of all types of gaming machines.
In a bizarre statement announced yesterday a government spokesman said that businesses that were associated with the operation of slot machines would not lose out financially from not having their licenses renewed, as they could turn to their attention to running other businesses that are in no way associated with gambling.
