Last month, Osaka took the first big step in its quest to host one of Japan’s first integrated resorts. On April 25, the city and prefecture began accepting requests for concepts from gaming operators interested in the region. Officials plan to select an operating partner in 2020 with hopes of fast-tracking the development so it opens before the 2025 World Expo, to be held on Yumeshima Island.
“A key element in the success of an integrated resort is support and alignment with government and local community,” said George Tanasijevich, Las Vegas Sands Corp.’s managing director for global development. “Osaka is still the only city that offers this and is actively pursuing the opportunity. Accordingly, we have devoted our energies, efforts and resources there.”
LVS isn’t the only company focusing on Osaka. Other would-be suitors include MGM Resorts International, Caesars Entertainment, and Galaxy Entertainment. Galaxy Japan General Manager Satoshi Okabe said, “We believe the major cities like Osaka offer the best opportunities for IRs to be developed on a large scale, similar to what we have developed in Macau.”
A newspaper poll taken before the April 7 election found that 45 percent of Osaka residents support an IR and 42 percent are opposed—a slim margin, but the first pro-IR majority in a major city, according to Forbes. “This result is largely due to the strong public and private sector leadership working over multiple years to build understanding of the multi-faceted benefits of IRs to host communities,” Caesars Japan Managing Director William Shen told the magazine.
Global Market Advisors has estimated that annual gaming revenue at an Osaka IR could exceed US$5 billion. But GMA Government Affairs Director Brendan Bussmann reminded eager bidders that the process is “still in the pregame phase.”
“I believe the picture six months from now will be considerably different, with several cities and prefectures raising their hand to compete against Osaka and others for one of the three licenses,” he said. “Remember, we do not have an appointed Casino Control Commission or the final rules in place to even start an RFP process. There is lots of ball to be played.”
Meanwhile, according to Asia Gaming Brief, Fitch Ratings estimates that Japan’s first three IRs are likely to generate between $5 billion and $9 billion in gaming revenue, or about $3 billion each, depending on the locations.
Ichiro Matsui, former governor and newly elected mayor of Osaka, previously spoke about Yumeshima as a location for both the World Expo and an Osaka IR, which he wants to be open for business by the end of 2024. “We want to build a city that can compete not just with Tokyo, but also Shanghai and Singapore,” he told Inside Asian Gaming.
