Operator News
Japan – Eleven operators vying for casino on Osaka’s Dream Island
By Phil - 22 August 2018
Eleven international casino operators are believed to be interested in developing an Integrated Resort on a man-made site called Yumeshima or Dream island in the Japanese city of Osaka.
Prefectural records show that executives from 11 casino companies have met Governor Matsui for courtesy calls 25 times between 2012 and May 2018. There have been 119 meetings between casino operators and Osaka officials.
Osaka is a large port city and commercial centre on the Japanese island of Honshu, with a population of 2.7m people making it the second Japanese city after Tokyo in terms of population.
What sets it aside from Tokyo in the casino stakes is that a location has already been chosen for a casino resort which has the full backing of its local politicians.
Osaka Governor Ichiro Matsui said: “I want to properly nurture the tourism industry in Osaka as one of its pillars.”
MGM Executive Vice President, Ed Bowers, emphasised this point, saying: “Tokyo has not raised its hand, Yokohama has not raised its hand, Osaka has raised its hand.”
Melco Resorts has its sights firmly set on Osaka and has sponsored several events and donated money to a natural disaster preparation cause. Last year, Lawrence Ho, the owner of Melco Resorts went public saying he’d prefer to build a casino in Osaka rather than Tokyo.
Melco Resorts has even opened an office in Osaka.
Ako Shiraogawa, President of Melco Japan, said: “We will make the necessary investments. Even if severe conditions are imposed and the world’s strictest regulations are put in place. We will do in Japan what we have done since our very first day, build with local partners, invest in extraordinary world-first architecture and design, create sophisticated entertainment experiences.”
Las Vegas Sands, Caesars Entertainment, Genting Singapore and Galaxy Entertainment have all been in discussions with officials from Osaka, which is widely expected to be the first licence awarded.
Morgan Stanley believes that an Osaka casino could generate $4bn a year.
“Based on foreign visitation numbers in each city, we estimate roughly 50 per cent of $3.9bn foreign GGR goes to Tokyo, 30 percent to Osaka and 10 percent to the third city,” Morgan Stanley said. “Based on the income level/GDP, infrastructure development and tourism attraction, we would expect Tokyo to take around 40 percent of the total US$15bn GGR at US$6bn market size and Osaka’s market size to be slightly smaller at US$4bn.”
“While Osaka seems to have all its stars aligned, there is no certainty around other locations. Tokyo seems to be busy with the Olympics, leaving Yokohama as one of the candidates. Tomakomai, a resort city in Hokkaido, Wakayama and Nagasaki are other interested location.”
