That is according to a report in a local media outlet of a Tuesday question-and-answer session at a prefectural assembly plenary meeting.

Last month it emerged that a business group in Omura (pictured), a city in the eastern portion of the prefecture, had expressed interest in an IR concept, according to Nippon Television and other reports.

Omura itself doesn’t qualify to apply to the national government directly to have an IR. Only prefectures and “ordinance-level” cities can do so. Nagasaki applied in the first round, but learned in December 2023 it had not been successful.

On Tuesday, Television Nagasaki reported that the prefecture’s governor, Ken Hirata, had replied to a prefectural assembly member from Omura city on how to deal with the IR topic. “At first, Omura city and the business community there have to discuss whether they want to have an IR and understand the meaning of having one,” Mr Hirata said.

He added: “According to the necessity, the prefecture can provide to Omura city the knowledge regarding IR which it has developed through the previous application process and the information it can get through the network with the central government and related companies.”

Per the May report, a body called the “Omura Bay Green IR Feasibility Study Promotion Council” will be established in Omura city in August, with Hiroshi Sonoda, the city’s mayor, serving as an advisor.

By the end of calendar-year 2026, the council will make a suggestion on the IR application topic to the city and the prefecture.

The next IR application window of the national government is between May 6, 2027 and November 5, 2027.

The single successful candidate from Japan’s first round was Osaka prefecture and city. It is building with commercial partners MGM Resorts International and Orix Corp, the JPY1.51-trillion (US$9.49-billion currently) MGM Osaka, due to open in 2030.

Maybank stated in a memo on Wednesday that “brick-and-mortar casinos face steep headwinds due to inflation, high utility costs cannibalising disposable income, and a lack of VIP high-rollers tied to slower-than-expected tourism growth.”

The Philippines reported in April that first-quarter foreign visitor arrivals were up 2.6 percent year-on-year, to circa 1.76 million, spurred by growth in most key markets except South Korea and China.

In its ‘Daily Edge’ digest of its analyst output for the Philippines’ business sectors, Maybank referred to comments at the start of June by Alejandro Tengco, chairman and chief executive of the country’s gaming regulator, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor).

He had said the Philippine gambling sector could see gross gaming revenue (GGR) decline by as much as 19 percent this year. It could be as low as PHP320 billion (US$5.20 billion) this year, versus the PHP396.14- billion recorded in 2025.

Maybank noted that notwithstanding land-based gaming’s challenges, “online gaming serves as the industry’s primary bright spot,” with operators such as Philippines-listed DigiPlus Interactive Corp “expected to outperform by leveraging promotional activities and expanding into lower-income segments”.

If a total of just over 93.8-million redeemable preferred shares of PhilWeb are fully exercised, Mr Gokonwei’s interest in PhilWeb’s total issued and outstanding common shares will rise to approximately 15 percent, according to the filing.

PhilWeb said in the update to the Philippine Stock Exchange that the transaction “is intended to support the company’s capital raising initiatives and related corporate initiatives”.

It noted in a separate press release: “The investment marks a significant milestone in PhilWeb’s transformation into an AI [artificial intelligence]-enabled technology infrastructure company serving the regulated digital entertainment sector.

“Beyond the capital infusion, PhilWeb expects to benefit from Mr Gokongwei’s strategic perspective, institutional experience, and extensive business network as the company strengthens its long-term technology roadmap and growth strategy.”

Mr Gokongwei is president and chief executive of JG Summit Holdings Inc, one of the Philippines’ largest conglomerates, which controls a number of brands such as Robinsons Land Corp, Universal Robina Corp, and the air carrier Cebu Pacific. NUSTAR Resort & Casino, on Cebu in the Philippines, is owned and operated by Universal Hotels and Resorts Inc, which is a privately-owned company by the Gokongwei family.

However, PhilWeb said that, in the deal now announced, Mr Gokongwei was acting in a “personal capacity”.

Brian Ng (pictured in a file photo), president of PhilWeb, was cited as saying in the press release that Mr Gokongwei’s investment “represents a strong endorsement” of the firm’s technology platform and long-term vision.

Mr Ng added: ‘Data intelligence and automated compliance tools are becoming essential layers of modern digital infrastructure.

“With Lance’s strategic investment and business network, PhilWeb is well positioned to expand our AI technology roadmap, serve our established ecosystem of leading partners more efficiently, and evaluate long-term growth opportunities.”

Long-term path

In March, PhilWeb confirmed a change of ownership after a management-led buyout.

The company has been highly-active as a services provider to the Philippine online gaming sector. In January, the firm announced a “strategic partnership” for the “operation and management” of the online gaming platform for Hann Casino Resort, a complex at Clark Freeport Zone.

In March, PhilWeb said it would be working with NUSTAR Online. It was described by PhilWeb as a “gaming and entertainment platform” that is also Pagcor-licensed. It is linked to NUSTAR Resort & Casino.

In April, PhilWeb announced a partnership with Travellers International Hotel Group Inc, operator of the Newport World Resorts casino and leisure complex in the Philippine capital Manila. It was for the latter’s online gaming business.

In May, PhilWeb launched the “Okada Play” online gaming platform in partnership with Tiger Resort, Leisure and Entertainment Inc, the promoter of the Okada Manila casino resort in the Philippine capital.

PhilWeb stated in its Wednesday update to the Philippine bourse that the share subscription agreement entered with Mr Gokongwei was for just over 159.5 million common shares and just over 93.8 million redeemable preferred shares of the company, at a subscription price of PHP8.00 per share.

The subscribed shares will be issued from the additional common and redeemable preferred shares to be created via a proposed increase in PhilWeb’s authorised capital stock from PHP2.6 billion to PHP3.6 billion.

The latter move is “subject to the approval of the company’s stockholders, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and other applicable regulatory requirements”.

Gaming tech plans

PhilWeb said the money raised from the exercise would help “strengthen PhilWeb’s balance sheet and support the integration of advanced data and AI capabilities across its core technology roadmap”.

This included “intelligent platform tools to support real-time risk scoring, transaction monitoring, suspicious activity detection, and responsible gaming controls”.

An additional area of investment was data analytics and platform intelligence, namely the development of secure data models designed to “interpret user behaviour, optimise player lifecycle management, and improve platform operating efficiency”.

There would also be backing for intelligent recommendation and retention tools, including automated recommendation engines to help licensed operators improve content discovery, platform performance, and user engagement, PhilWeb said.

The company would also work on “enhancing” internal and partner-facing systems through automation tools to “optimise compliance workflows, reporting, and high-throughput platform monitoring”.

In a Tuesday filing, it said reasons for the decline included an “employee benefits increase of HK$13.5 million to attract talent which enhanced our competitiveness in the employment market”.

That included staff for its Palasino Mikulov property (pictured), near the border with Austria, which launched toward the end of the reporting period.

The firm added that “despite reduction in online gaming expenses by HKD7.8 million, our investment in promoting our brand awareness in our target markets continued to attract travellers’ visitation to our casinos”.

The group says it has an integrated resort in the Czech Republic comprising a hotel and casino, alongside three “full-service land-based casinos” in that nation. It also has hotels in Germany and Austria.

Palasino stated that “in conjunction with the marketing effort for the Palasino Mikulov launch,” marketing costs increased by HKD6.3 million during financial-year 2026. It added it allocated HKD33.6 million in capital expenditure in the reporting period on the launch of the new property.

The company announced in a separate Tuesday filing a final dividend on its ordinary shares amounting to HKD0.029 per share, payable on September 18. The main results filing said the dividend amounted to HKD23.4 million.

The financial-year 2026 result was on revenue of HKD611.1 million, up 7.6 percent year-on-year.

The firm said the gain “was mainly attributable to increases in table gaming revenue of 20.2 percent with higher hold rate and revenue from the slot machines operation of 6.9 percent.”

Palasino also stated that gaming revenue net of gaming tax for the latest reporting period was 9.9 percent higher than in financial-year 2025, which it said “demonstrated momentum continued to be strong on gaming”.

Full-year adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were HKD60.7 million, a gain of 15.6 percent year-on-year.

The company had said in a late December 2025 announcement that Palasino Mikulov, the company’s fourth gaming property, had opened, with a “soft launch” on December 18.

In its results filing, Palasino said “the grand opening of Palasino Mikulov was successfully held on March 21, 2026, symbolically marking the official conclusion of the soft-opening period commencing on December 18, 2025”.

The launch of Palasino Mikulov “represented a significant milestone in the group’s long-term development and further strengthens its presence and competitive positioning in the Czech Republic’s land-based casino market.”

The firm said that group-wide gaming revenue for financial-year 2026 accounted for approximately 73.3 percent of total revenue, slightly up from financial-year 2025’s 72.0 percent.

Financial-year 2026 non-gaming revenue – including hotel, food and drink, conference business, and “ancillary services” – represented approximately 26.7 percent of total revenue, versus 28.0 percent in financial-year 2025.

Palasino stated: “The expansion of the group’s gaming portfolio underscored the group’s strategic focus on allocating business resources toward gaming as its primary revenue driver.”

The group said it had cash and liquid investments of approximately HKD271.6 million as of March 31, down 8.8 percent year-on-year, mainly due to total capital expenditure of HKD44.8 million during the latest reporting period.

The company was listed in Hong Kong in first-half of calendar-year 2024 as a spin-off from Hong Kong-listed property developer Far East Consortium International Ltd. The latter is also an investor in a Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, real estate development that houses The Star Brisbane casino resort.

That is according to the latest monthly survey from the Macau Hotel Association, published by the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO).

The survey collected data from 49 association-member hotels, 28 of which are five-star properties. Most are within casino resort complexes. The remaining members – in either the four-star or three-star category – include some hotels that are within casino resorts.

In March, the average nightly rate for a five-star hotel room already saw a rate boost that reversed the previous 14 consecutive months of year-on-year decline.

The first five days of May encompassed the Chinese mainland’s 2026 Labour Day holiday season. During the period, Macau saw nearly 7 percent year-on-year growth in visitor arrivals from the mainland, at 725,000 entries, according to data from MGTO.

Nonetheless, the average nightly rate for both the four-star and three-star hotels canvassed by the Macau Hotel Association saw year-on-year decline in May. The four-star average was MOP1,117.4, down 2.7 percent year-on-year. The three-star average was MOP891.8, down 6.7 percent year-on-year.

The latest data took the average nightly rate for five-star rooms in the first five months of this year to MOP1,534.3, flat from a year ago, with occupancy averaging 94.3 percent, down 0.2 percentage points.

The average nightly rate for the five-star hotel rooms surveyed in the January to May period was still 5.3 percent lower than the same period in the pre-pandemic year of 2019, where it stood at MOP1,619.4, according to the association’s data.

Across all hotel categories covered in the 2026 data, the average room rate across January to May declined 0.2 percent year-on-year to MOP1,369.0.

Five-star hotels dominate Macau’s hotel market. As of April – the most recent figures available – the city offered 26,300 five-star rooms, nearly 58 percent of the total 45,400 guest rooms across all categories. That is according to the city’s Statistics and Census Service. The number of Macau five-star rooms rose 1.1 percent compared with April 2025.

That is according to shareholding disclosures filed with the Hong Kong bourse. Pzena is deemed a substantial shareholder in Galaxy Entertainment.

The second and largest of the two purchases was on June 16, when Pzena spent HKD695.61 million in upping its long position in Galaxy Entertainment to 6.27 percent, from 5.75 percent. The average price per share at point of exchange had stood at HKD30.51 for that transaction.

On May 14 Pzena had spent HKD184.16 million to increase its long position in Galaxy Entertainment from 4.89 percent to 5.01 percent. Average price per share at point of exchange was HKD33.81.

At the close of Monday trading on the Hong Kong bourse, Galaxy Entertainment’s share price was at a calendar-year low of HKD29.82.

Hong Kong-listed Macau gaming names have been underperforming versus the Hang Seng Index year-to-date, said banking group Morgan Stanley in a Sunday memo.

The institution attributed that to the market’s downward revision of Macau-sector earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA); and expectations of “weaker June/July” casino gross gaming revenue (GGR).

In the same note the banking group mentioned it had cut 2026 growth estimates for Macau’s full-year GGR and EBITDA.

Macau gaming stocks were “rolling at the bottom”, for now, suggested Morgan Stanley.

Per a statement from the airline, the service will help in “strengthening the connection between Phu Quoc and important economic, tourism, and aviation hubs in the region”.

The carrier also mentioned a direct Phu Quoc-Bangkok route, linking the Vietnamese island to the Thai capital, with flights scheduled from August 8.

Phu Quoc is home to the Corona Resort & Casino, which, along with The Grand Ho Tram casino resort near Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, is currently permitted by the local authorities to offer gambling not only to foreign players, but also to economically-qualified locals.

Sun Group is also the promoter of a new casino resort project in the Van Don Economic Zone in Quang Ninh province in the north of Vietnam. A ceremony to mark the start of construction work was held in December 2025.

Sun Group said the addition of Singapore to its flight network marked Sun PhuQuoc Airways’ fourth international destination in less than four months, following Taipei in Taiwan, Seoul in South Korea, and Hong Kong, the latter service launched in May.

The firm’s latest update cited data from Phu Quoc International Airport, indicating that in 2025 flight routes connecting Singapore and Phu Quoc carried nearly 98,000 passengers. The company added that in the first five months of 2026, the number of visitors via Singapore accounted for nearly 66,000 arrivals, “equivalent to about 68 percent of the previous year’s total”.

Phu Quoc, an island off Vietnam’s southwest coast, is classified as a “special economic zone” of the country’s An Giang province. The island offers 30-day visa-free entry for specified international travellers, versus an eVisa requirement applicable for many international travellers to the Vietnam mainland.

That is according to a Monday statement by the two firms sent to GGRAsia.

The CVC investment is via its Strategic Opportunities platform. The latter was set up by CVC in 2014 “to invest in high-quality businesses that may not suit a traditional private equity mandate”, according to CVC’s website.

James Maida, GLI’s co-founder and chief executive, was quoted as saying in Monday’s announcement: “We are truly excited and honoured to welcome CVC as a strategic investment partner.”

He was also cited saying: “This partnership creates new opportunities for growth and innovation, allowing GLI to invest even more in the success of the future of the global gaming industry as well as investing in related and adjacent sectors.”

The release stated CVC had “completed an investment into GLI and related entities”, which would “provide resources and expertise to enhance the capabilities and growth prospects of GLI”. No figures were disclosed in terms of CVC’s involvement.

GGRAsia has approached GLI for clarification on the overall nature of CVC’s investment.

At the time that CVC’s potential investment became public last year, a regulatory announcement in Malta concerning market-competition rules had mentioned “acquisition of sole control of Gaming Laboratories International, LLC and its affiliates Worldwide Laboratories, LLC and Kobetron, LLC”, by a company linked to CVC.

Monday’s update referred to CVC Strategic Opportunities as GLI’s “first external investor”.

Per the statement, GLI – founded in 1989 by Mr Maida and Paul Magno – currently has more than 1,500 employees, serving over 710 regulated gaming jurisdictions worldwide.

Monday’s announcement cited Matt Turner, partner at CVC – and described as a GLI board member –, as saying: “Within CVC Strategic Opportunities, we seek to partner with exceptional businesses that have histories of consistent success, strong market positions and significant long-term growth potential.”

He added: “GLI fits perfectly with that approach, as over nearly 40 years James and Paul have built GLI into the clear leader in its industry.”

Mr Turner further noted of GLI: “The company plays a critical role in the global regulated gaming ecosystem and has established itself as a trusted partner to regulators, operators and suppliers around the world.

“This positions the business extremely well for continued growth, and we are looking forward to working alongside James and the talented team at GLI to support the company’s future success.”

CVC’s website say it has EUR15-billion (US$17.1-billion) in assets under management. CVC’s Strategic Opportunities arm is said to have a “core focus on corporate private equity investments with a lower risk profile, primarily in Europe and North America, as well as the opportunity to partner with founding families or foundations looking for a long-term partner”.

That is according to a Monday update from Macau’s Statistics and Census Service.

Visitor arrivals from the Chinese mainland tallied just above 2.54 million in May. This cohort accounted for 72.1 percent of Macau’s circa 3.49 million in aggregate visitor arrivals during the month, with the city’s May tourism from all sources having grown 3.4 percent year-on-year.

Out of the circa 2.54 million Chinese-mainland visitors logged in May, around 54.3 percent of them – or 1.38 million – came into Macau via the Chinese authorities’ Individual Visit Scheme (IVS), an exit visa system for Chinese consumers permitted to travel independently, rather than in escorted groups. The number of Macau’s IVS visitors in May grew 5.2 percent year-on-year.

The first five days of May encompassed the mainland’s 2026 Labour Day holiday season. During the period, Macau saw nearly 7 percent year-on-year growth in visitor arrivals from the mainland, at 725,000 entries. That is according to data from Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO).

Nonetheless, for May as a whole, the pace tailed off after the holidays, settling at the 4.2 percent figure year-on-year.

In February, the year-on-year growth in Chinese-mainland visitors to Macau had reached 43.6 percent, coinciding with a nine-day mainland holiday for Chinese New Year this time, with the official break starting on February 15. For the whole of February, the rise from all source markets was circa 33 percent year-on-year.

In March, the year-on-year gain in Macau’s mainland visitors had been 10.6 percent, and in April, 13.1 percent.

Across May this time, Macau’s second-most important feeder source for inbound tourism – neighbouring Hong Kong – supplied 618,341 arrivals in May, down by 0.4 percent year-on-year.

Visitor arrivals from the international markets, i.e., outside the Greater China region, tallied 234,150 in May, up 0.8 percent year-on-year.

The number of Macau’s May overnight visitors declined by 3.0 percent year-on-year to nearly 1.34 million, while the same-day visitor segment grew 7.9 percent, to 2.15 million.

Analysts Praveen Choudhary and Stephen Grambling said in a Sunday note: “We expect 2026 GGR to grow by 5.3 percent year-on-year, below consensus expectations of 6 percent.” Morgan Stanley’s previous GGR growth forecast was also set at 6 percent.

They added, referring to their latest estimate: “Our forecasts imply quarterly GGR growth of only 2 percent to 3 percent year-on-year through fourth-quarter 2026.

“That said, June and July could see slowdowns related to the [FIFA] World Cup and might even post a negative year-on-year growth number.”

Morgan Stanley also revised downward its 2026 growth estimate for the sector’s earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), to “1 percent” from “2 percent” previously.

It also stated its “biggest changes” on EBITDA forecasts at individual-operator level were for Sands China Ltd and SJM Holdings Ltd, linked to its expectations for “weaker second-quarter EBITDA performances”.

Morgan Stanley forecasts full-year 2026 corporate EBITDA across the six Macau operators to come in at the equivalent of just under US$7.93 billion.

“We expect negative EBITDA estimate revisions to continue, driven by lower GGR growth expectations and a structurally-higher cost base,” stated the bank.

In a preview on second-quarter earnings season, due shortly, Morgan Stanley said regarding GGR market-share data for the three months to June 30: “Sands China Ltd and Melco Resorts & Entertainment Ltd are expected to have ceded market share during the quarter, while MGM China Ltd and Wynn Macau Ltd are seen gaining.”

The bank thinks Sands China’s GGR share will be down 2.6 percent sequentially, at 23.6 percent, with Melco Resorts likely to be down 0.8 percent sequentially, at 14.4 percent for the quarter.

For MGM China, Morgan Stanley anticipates a 17.0-percent quarterly share, up 1.2 percent, and for Wynn Macau Ltd, a 13.9-percent quarterly share of GGR, up 1.3 percent sequentially.

“Based on our market share assumptions, MGM China and Wynn Macau Ltd are projected to exceed consensus EBITDA estimates by circa 9 percent to 10 percent in second-quarter 2026,” stated Morgan Stanley.

The bank forecasts market-wide property EBITDA for the second quarter at just under US$2.08 billion, which would be circa 4.9 percent down sequentially on first-quarter’s reported circa US$2.19 billion. Judged year-on-year, that would make second-quarter property EBITDA roughly flat, said Morgan Stanley.

Assessing the implied growth required to meet full-year 2026 consensus EBITDA forecasts, Morgan Stanley stated: “MGM China and Wynn Macau Ltd screen as relatively lower risk due to their stronger first-half run-rates and positive revision potentials.”

The bank added: “Peers appear to face higher hurdles, with required growth appearing more back- ended and dependent on a recovery in share.”