Inside Asian Gaming

inside asian gaming MAY 2015 90 Lawmakers Submit Japan Casino Legalization Bill According to Reuters , Japan’s pro-casino lawmakers submitted to parliament on 28th April a bill to legalize casinos in the country, the latest bid to establish an industry that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sees as key to economic growth. Parliamentary records showed that members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, the Japan Innovation Party and the Party for Future Generations had submitted the bill, but it was unclear when it would be discussed or voted on. The lawmakers have said they hoped the bill would pass before July or August, when the current parliamentary session is expected to end. Attempts to legalize casino gambling in Japan, which industry experts say is one of the world’s last major untapped gaming markets, have been delayed repeatedly amid opposition from lawmakers worried about addiction and organized crime. Some members of the Buddhist-backed Komeito, a junior partner in Mr Abe’s coalition government, oppose legalization. Lawmakers in the pro-casino camp have said this opposition made it hard for them to push for the bill even though supporters slightly outnumber opponents in parliament. Failure to pass the bill would also delay the drafting of a crucial second bill on implementation which outlines details on how the industry would be regulated. Companies such as Las Vegas Sands Corp and MGM Resorts International are vying to win licenses to operate casinos in Japan, a market that brokerage CLSA estimates could generate annual revenue of US$40 billion. Analysts have said it was already looking difficult to build resorts in time for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Mohegan Sun Operator Makes Incheon Casino Proposal The Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, operator of the Mohegan Sun casino in the US, has joined with the operator of South Korea’s Incheon International Airport in a proposal for a US$5 billion development with a casino resort component at the site of the airport. International gaming companies are being lured to South Korea by the government’s decision to award two further gaming licenses this year, along with the promise of a market that saw a 42% jump in Chinese tourists last year to a record 6 million. Incheon International Airport said their proposed resort would be developed on the grounds of the gateway airport to Seoul, which serves more than 45 million visitors annually. Mohegan Sun would spend about $1.6 billion on the first stage of the resort by 2020. The entire project, due to be completed in 2040, would include a foreigner-only casino with 250 gaming tables, a 1,000-room hotel, an arena for up to 20,000 people and an amusement park, the companies said. The South Korea government has said it will decide on “around two” new gaming licenses by the end of this year. The new casinos would be aimed at catering to foreign visitors as Seoul bans locals from entering all but one of its 17 casinos and has no plans to change that policy. Also competing for a license are Hong Kong’s Chow Tai Fook Enterprises Ltd with a proposal for a $2.6 billion resort, which would also be near Incheon airport, and Philippines’ Bloomberry Resorts Corp which has plans to invest $1 billion to build a casino complex in the country. Bloomberry, which has not said where its proposed casino would be, has bought an island off the coast of Incheon and bought an existing casino in Jeju Island. If it decides to build the integrated resort in Jeju it would not need a new license. Most of South Korea’s current casinos are tiny by the standards of Macau or Las Vegas. Upcoming projects include one being built by a joint venture between South Korea’s Paradise Co Ltd and Japan’s Sega Sammy Holdings Inc, and another by Caesars Entertainment Corp and Lippo Ltd. Both those projects will also be near Incheon airport. REGIONAL BRIEFS Prime Minister Abe sees casinos as key to economic growth. Rendering of Incheon International Airport ’s proposed resort Paradise Q1 Casino Revenue Declines South Korea’s leading foreigner-only casino operator, Paradise Co., reported an 11.6% year-on-year decline in casino revenue in the first quarter to KRW133.3 billion (US$122.2 million). Table game revenue fell 12.9% to KRW124.6 billion, on the back of a 22.7% reduction in table drop to KRW1.1 trillion. Machine gaming revenue, meanwhile, was up 12.2% to KRW8.8, accounting for 6.6% of total casino revenue in the quarter. Paradise operates five foreigner-only casinos in South Korea, including its current flagship, Walkerhill. The company is in the process of significantly expanding its operations. In a joint venture with Japanese gaming machine manufacturer Sega Sammy, it broke ground on the country’s first destination-scale casino resort, dubbed Paradise City, in November at a special economic development zone on Yeongjong island, the