Planners hoping to build multibillion-dollar integrated resorts (IRs) in Osaka and Nagasaki, Japan, will be ready to hit the ground running when and if the central government finally approves the casino complexes.
Bidding coalitions in the two prefectures submitted their proposals in April of last year, with the expectation that a decision would be made by the end of the year. When the results were not forthcoming, bidders hoped to hear the results early in January. They’re still waiting.
The IRs were first approved in 2016, and might have opened as early as 2025 if not for the Covid-19 pandemic, which cooled interest in the new market and also put development plans on hold. Originally, three IRs were proposed in the first phase of liberalization. But the pandemic caused global bidders to drop out of the running, and in the end, only two actual proposals were submitted.
Despite the challenges, according to Casino.org, officials in Nagasaki and Osaka and their development partners remain confident that they will get the green light to begin development soon. To that end, they have earmarked more funds to build the resorts.
Nagasaki’s budget includes JPY1.52 billion yen (US$$11.4 million) for the next fiscal year, which starts in April. Of that, JPY427 million (US$3.16 million) will go to the IR promotion department—up 147 percent from last year’s budget. Other funds have been allocated for meeting and convention spaces, with an additional $1 million-plus added for responsible gaming and addiction services. The prefecture partnered with Casinos Austria for the IR, which will be developed near the Huis ten Bosch Dutch-themed entertainment park in Sasebo City. The partners hope to open Phase 1 of the IR by 2027.
Osaka, meanwhile, has only set aside JPY600 million yen (US$4.5 million), about a third of Nagasaki’s IR budget and about 6.4 percent less than the funding in last year’s budget, according to GGRAsia. Of that, JPY115 million (US$852,035) has been allotted for “political measures,” while the rest will cover staffing.
Osaka is working with MGM Resorts International and Orix Corp. on a JPY1.08 trillion (US$8 billion) IR on Yumeshima, a manmade island in Osaka Bay. In a fourth-quarter earnings call, MGM CEO Bill Hornbuckle said if the central government doesn’t approve the licenses soon, that company would be hard-pressed to open by 2029.
“But we’re being patient,” he added, “and believe we will hear soon.”
If approved, the plans would create the first legal casinos in Japan, first endorsed by late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as a way to promote international tourism.
