Inside Asian Gaming

IAG JAN 2021年1月 亞博匯 42 COVER STORY actually open and the first bet be placed? This is when the entire process becomes much more fluid. There are many steps between an operator and location being selected and the first chip coming to rest on green baize. Numerous approvals at the city, prefectural and national levels. Regulator consultations. Financing issues. Public consultations. And some experts estimate construction in Japan will take around 50% longer than usual, due to Japan’s strict building requirements and labor issues. Further, the way the rules of the game have been structured, it’s difficult to stage the rollout of the properties, so they will have to essentially be built in their entireties before the ribbon is cut. The national government says it is currently aiming to have the first IR open in the “second half of the decade,” but all things considered it would not be out of the question for that to be in the 2030s. WHO? Notably, three of the four major Las Vegas IR operators – Caesars, Las Vegas Sands and Wynn Resorts – have withdrawn from the Japan IR process, for a variety of reasons. These include concerns over the ROI, given the prevailing and likely regulations and investment levels required, and a desire to focus on core markets during the more difficult times the industry is now faced with. Even the one major Las Vegas operator remaining in the race – MGM Resorts – finds itself as the only qualified bidder in Osaka’s RFP process. Such Will Tokyo enter Japan’s IR race? 東京會加入日本的IR競標賽道嗎？