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Betting big on Japan It’s been just over six months since the final passage of a bill establishing the framework for legal casinos in Japan and operators are steadily building their ground games in the race to win perhaps the most coveted license in the world.
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large and wealthy middle-class population, an expanding tourism industry in proximity to China and South Korea and a strong propensity to gamble have made Japan the key focal point for most of the largest casino operators. The market is expected to become the second-biggest in Asia in its first year of operation, though estimates for gross gambling revenue vary widely depending on the locations that are chosen for the initial round of resorts. Perhaps not surprisingly, operators have pledged to invest billions to create unique and world-class IRs and have already spent heavily on establishing a presence on the ground. The focus section for our first Asia Gaming Briefing magazine of 2019 is therefore Japan. We will look at the current state of play and what we can expect over the course of this year, both from a regulatory point of view and political. Although the IR Implementation Bill has been passed, there is still strong opposition to
Asia Gaming Briefings | Februay 2019
IRs from the Japanese public and the outcome of many local elections to be held across the country, including Hokkaido, could well play a key role in determining where resorts will ultimately be located. We also publish a map to provide visual representation of the key prefectures hoping to a host an IR, the sites they are proposing and an idea of the local economy. A major part of the focus will be on the operators themselves. In a mini-survey we ask which locations they are studying and why, and what they think it is about their company and proposal that will given them the edge in such a competitive race. Lastly, once these IRs are up and running they will need to fill their casinos. We take a look at what the gaming floor of a Japanese IR might look like and consider some of the factors that may help shape decisions. Alongside the ubiquitous baccarat tables, there is optimism Japan may drive a new generation of high-tech electronic gaming.
