Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING JAN 2019 10 BREAKFAST BRIEFS JAPAN IRS TO CONFIRM IDENTITY OF PLAYERS BUYING US$2,650 WORTH OF CHIPS OR MORE OSAKA TO BEGIN IR OPERATOR SELECTION PROCESS IN EARLY 2019 THE identity of any player looking to buy chips worth JPY300,000 (US$2,650) or more would need to be verified under a new proposal by an expert panel setting out the ground rules for Japanese integrated resorts. In its latest meeting in December, the Experts’ Committee also confirmed a recommendation for the maximum space the casino floor can occupy to be limited to 3% of the total IR space and suggested a higher minimum size for hotel rooms in the nation’s IRs. Most notable though was the call for players’ IDs Osaka Governor Ichiro Matsui has revealed that the city will begin the process of evaluating the bids of IR operator candidates in early 2019. Matsui and Osaka Mayor Hirofumi Yoshimura met with a team from Las Vegas Sands (LVS), led by President and Chief Operating Officer Rob Goldstein, on 12 December with the US casino giant becoming the latest to pitch its plans to construct an integrated resort. Osaka is considered a leading contender to win one of three IR licenses to be issued by the national government. Speaking to reporters afterwards, Matsui stated, “We will shortlist candidates by starting to assess their plans and willingness to invest early next year.” He added that Osaka wants to develop a “synergy” between the IR and World Expo facilities on its Yumeshima Island site after the city recently won its bid to host the World Expo in 2025. Matsui’s comments regarding each company’s “willingness to invest” will please LVS – one of a handful of companies to declare it would potentially spend more than US$10 billion to develop a Japanese IR. In Osaka, any such investment would also require a JPY20 billion (US$176 million) contribution to extend the metro train line from the city to Yumeshima Island. to be confirmed for all transactions of JPY300,000 and above. The panel also wants any transactions worth JPY1 million (US$8,830) to be reported to the Casino Management Committee – the IR oversight committee to be established next year. The Japanese government will issue its decree in 2019 laying out the specific standards for IRs based on the Act on Promotion of Development of Specified Complex Tourist Facilities Area.