Following feedback from 12 entities under the RFI phase, the local government identified that the capital investment could be as much as USS $11.9 billion.
Banking group Morgan Stanley recently expressed concern that the intense competition for Japan casino rights could have the effect of inflating the capital cost of entry, and thereby lengthen the amount of time it would take such a scheme to reach operational break-even.
A maximum of three casino resorts are to be allowed in the first stage of liberalisation of Japan’s gaming industry.
Estimates for gross floor area for such a resort ranged from 1.5 million square metres down to 670,000 sq metres, said Yokohama’s integrated resort research report for financial year 2018. The term integrated resort or “IR” is used in Japan to denote large-scale casino complexes with other tourism facilities.
Nine of the 12 respondents in Yokohama’s RFI stage were willing to be identified. They included: Caesars Entertainment, Capital and Innovation, Galaxy Entertainment Group, Genting Singapore, Melco Resorts and Entertainment, MGM Resorts International, Sega Sammy, Shotoku, and Wynn Resorts.
Source: GMB / GGR Asia
