Osaka’s plan for Japan’s first casino

OSAKA (Japan): The Japanese city of Osaka plans to invite operators to build a casino on a plot of reclaimed land on Osaka Bay, its governor told Reuters, pipping Tokyo in the race to attract global gaming firms to set up the country’s first gambling resort.

Yumeshima, with about 170ha of land available for development, is likely to be designated as the preferred site for a casino when Osaka officials meet on April 22 to discuss the issue, governor Ichiro Matsui said in an interview.

Tokyo, the other city most likely to host a casino, has yet to officially name a site for a development, although the Odaiba area in Tokyo Bay is being touted as the preferred location. Tokyo governor Yoichi Masuzoe has yet to say whether he supports a casino in the capital.

“It’s about time that as a city we narrow down the candidate sites,” Matsui said as Japan’s parliament prepares to debate a bill that would start the process of legalising casino gambling in Japan.

“We have reached the point where we need to start accepting proposals,” he added.

Brokerage CLSA predicts Japan could become the world’s third-biggest gambling market with annual revenue of over US$40 billion (RM130 billion).

Global and Asian gaming companies including Las Vegas Sands Corp, MGM Resorts International, Wynn Resorts Ltd and Malaysia’s Genting Bhd have courted officials in both Osaka and Tokyo ahead of the initial bill.

Japan is widely viewed as a prize market for casino operators due to its wealthy population and proximity to China, home to some of the world’s most prolific, and richest, gamblers. CLSA estimates Japan could be the world’s third-biggest gambling market after Macau and the United States, and with many more years of growth.


This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on April 16, 2014.