Inside Asian Gaming

IAG FEB 2021年2月 亞博匯 76 JAPAN the world’s biggest IR companies have eschewed this location because of the small population base and access difficulties with the Huis Ten Bosch site. It would also make sense for there to be at least one successful Japanese company, and the obvious contender is Sega Sammy, who have made it clear Yokohama is currently their preferred location. Given all this, perhaps the process may play out a little differently to current expectations. One possibility is a further delay in order to drum up more competition in terms of both potential IR locations and candidate operators. Another is that Japan decides to start with just one IR, not three, perhaps in Nagasaki or even Wakayama, as a kind of test before proceeding with the main game in a major city like Tokyo or Osaka. Only time will tell. Yokohama is hampered by the upcoming mayoral election and lack of clarity on what happens if an anti-IR candidate wins. 橫濱受到即將舉行的市長選舉阻礙，若反對IR的候選人當選，前景則或未可知。 大阪目前僅剩一個競標者——美高梅，儘管該公司多年 來一直是最有熱情的競標者之一，但其主席、全球大流行的 新冠疫情以及單一競標者的活力等問題，都有可能阻礙相 關進程。橫濱受即將到到來的市長選舉的影響，目前並不清 楚若反對IR的候選人獲勝將會帶來怎樣的結果。和歌山市 只有兩名候選企業，即太陽城和Clairvest，而後者又特別沉 默。這使長崎成為唯一可能較為有趣的競賽，但由於該區人 口基數較小，以及候選地豪斯登堡的通行困難，全球大型博 企皆繞開了這個地點。至少有一家日本公司會成功中標，世 嘉颯美是最有競爭力的選手——其也明確表示了橫濱是他 們的首選地點。 綜合考慮上述情況，投標流程可能會與先前的預期有 所出入。一種可能性是進一步延遲，以激起更多潛在IR候選 地及候選營運商的競爭。另一情況是日本可能會選擇從一 個IR項目而非三個IR項目開始測試——可能是長崎或和歌 山，之後再在東京或大阪等主要城市鋪開賽道。 只有時間會揭曉最終的謎底。