Caesars makes inroads in Osaka
Hard Rock International picked the perfect venue to reveal its new Japan logo: a sold-out Yokohama concert featuring alternative rock band Muse. According to the Macau Daily Times, the banner for the U.S.-based gaming operator includes a Japanese-language subtitle that translates as “the future of a Japan-style IR.”
At a press conference, Hard Rock Asia CEO Edward Tracy said the company will stand out among its competitors due to its emphasis on entertainment. “Entertainment is our DNA,” he said. “We are an entertainment company first and a casino company second.”
Tracy also noted that Hard Rock wants to bid for the rights to operate resorts in both municipal and regional locations and has submitted expressions of interest to two local governments. He did not identify them, but said it’s prepared to make a “major investment” in Japan.
The company brand has been part of the Japanese landscape for 30 years of experience, with six Hard Rock Cafés currently in operation there.
Caesars Entertainment, meanwhile, has zeroed in on Osaka as its preferred IR location, in particular Yumeshima Island. Jan Jones Blackhurst, Caesars’ executive vice-president of public policy and corporate responsibility, recently told a Japanese newspaper that the company has submitted basic plans to both the prefectural and city governments of Osaka.
William Shen, managing director and representative officer of Caesars Entertainment Japan, told the Asia Gaming Brief, “We did share our proposed concept for an Osaka IR which is anchored around the three pillars of wellness, MICE and entertainment; and we have also presented the concept at a couple of forums over the past few months. Based on what we’ve heard, we believe we’re the only major operator proposing an IR centered around wellness, a concept which we believe is in line with Kansai region’s long history of leadership in the medical and healthcare industry as well as reinforces the theme of Osaka’s proposal for 2025 World Expo.”
Blackhurst said Caesars was also one of eight global companies that responded to the RFI process conducted by Tomakomai, Hokkaido.
On the Japan side, Hajime Satomi, president of Sega Sammy Holdings, says his company is angling for a “main position” in an IR consortium and will produce an “IR Grand Design” before the end of the year.
As interest in the jurisdiction builds, researchers at the University of Las Vegas are advising Japan to learn from Sin City how to run a gaming industry that is free of criminal enterprise. According to the GGRAsia, one report published by the International Gaming Institute at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas was titled: “Practical perspectives on gambling regulatory processes for study by Japan: eliminating organized crime in Nevada casinos.”
Authors Jennifer Roberts, Brett Abarbanel and Bo Bernhard, executive director of the Institute, wrote, “The global gaming industry (as well as the general public) is well aware that the yakuza have been active in gambling activities in Japan, which mandates an aggressive approach” to keep out the criminal element.
The report recommended that Japan implement a “stringent pre-licensing review”; create a “regulatory system with a strong enforcement structure that can help perform police-level overt and covert criminal investigations”; encourage “strong self-regulation” among casinos; and equip gaming regulators with the power to impose sanctions against operators that “willfully or negligently” violate laws and regulations.
A second report from the institute discouraged possible entry fees for locals who gamble in Japan casinos, saying they have proven counterproductive in keeping out problem gamblers.
That report also recommended appointing specialized law enforcement for gaming-related investigations; a long-term research program to assess changes in crime statistics; an interdisciplinary committee to oversee public health and safety; industry-wide advertising and marketing standards; and a “gambling-neutral” problem gambling council “with a mandate to develop a public health safety net for gamblers and ensure advocacy for persons with gambling disorders throughout government and industry.”
