May 14, 2019 Newsdesk Japan, Latest News, Top of the deck  
U.S.-based operator of casinos MGM Resorts International says it will submit a proposal to develop a casino resort in the Japanese prefecture of Osaka. The document will be submitted in partnership with Japanese financial services group Orix Corp, confirmed on Monday Ed Bowers, chief executive of MGM Resorts Japan, during a media event in Osaka.
Osaka’s request-for-concept (RFC) application phase in its effort to identify parties interested in being commercial partners for hosting a casino resort began on April 25, and ends on May 24.
On Monday’s event, Mr Bowers did not reveal details of the proposal, reiterating that the consortium is anchored by, but not exclusive to, Orix, as “Osaka corporations” are expected to participate in the scheme as minority partners.
The specifications of the RFC phase are that the Osaka site will cover 49 hectares (121 acres). Yumeshima island, a land reclamation site in Osaka bay, has previously been flagged as the likely site for an integrated resort.
Japanese newspapers had also reported that the Osaka authorities’ plan requires a JPY930-billion (US$8.5 billion) investment in a casino resort, to open in 2024.
The term “integrated resort” or “IR” is used in Japan to describe large-scale gambling resorts with ancillary leisure facilities.
Under the Osaka RFC requirements, a submission should include a number of core attributes as identified by the national government in ordinances on March 26. They are: convention capacity; exhibition space; an attraction to promote to the world Japan and its culture; ability to function as a tourism gateway to other parts of the country; and a large-scale hotel.
Respondents to Osaka’s RFC must also outline countermeasures to gambling addiction and plans to ensure community safety.
A maximum of three casino resorts will be permitted in the first stage of market liberalisation in Japan, and interested local governments will still need to get approval from the national authorities.
MGM Resorts chairman and chief executive James Murren had said earlier this year that the company expected Osaka to select “by early 2020” the private-sector partners it would like to work with when pitching to the national government for the right to host a casino resort.
May 31, 2023
May 17, 2023
Jun 07, 2023
Jun 07, 2023
Jun 07, 2023
Chinese government policies relevant to investors and consumers might “turn more positive” if the country’s economic-growth momentum “continues to weaken”, says a note from...Jun 07, 2023
Casino gaming content and hardware provider Light &...Jun 06, 2023
Electronic table games (ETGs) supplier Interblock dd is...Jun 05, 2023
Random number generator (RNG) testing tools are among the...Jun 01, 2023
Alfastreet, a manufacturer of electronic gaming machines,...Jun 01, 2023
Casino equipment maker Sega Sammy Creation Inc is tweaking...Jun 01, 2023
The iGaming segment in Asia “has grown rapidly” since...May 31, 2023
Showing slot machine players – via animations on the...May 31, 2023
Macau stocks in likelihood “have been punished too much...May 31, 2023
There are foreign companies still interested in investing...May 31, 2023
Thailand could pass the necessary enabling legislation for...May 30, 2023
China will remain a key market for Asian gaming...May 30, 2023
Alejandro Tengco (pictured in a file photo), chairman and...May 30, 2023
There are “plenty of reasons” for the global gaming...May 30, 2023
Gaming equipment provider International Game Technology Plc...May 30, 2023
The Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia 2023 Special Edition:...May 29, 2023
Austria-based gaming equipment maker and operator Novomatic...May 25, 2023
Sports betting and online casino operating platform...May 24, 2023
The business performance in Asia of gaming content and...May 18, 2023
The organisers of Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia 2023...May 17, 2023
Gaming content and equipment supplier Light & Wonder...May 16, 2023
Casino equipment maker Sega Sammy Creation Inc is to...May 09, 2023
Casino slot machine and digital gaming content provider...May 05, 2023
The Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia event in Singapore is the...May 04, 2023
An adviser to a Thailand parliamentary committee mulling...(Click here for more)
”We’ve said we want to grow EBITDA ... to US$1.4 billion in 2025. And we have a really high level of conviction about getting there”
Matt Wilson
Chief executive of casino equipment provider Light & Wonder