Nagasaki politicians want to see a casino resort open on land at Huis Ten Bosch, a theme park in Sasebo city within the prefecture.
The companies already confirmed are Oshidori International Holdings, Casinos Austria, Pixel Companyz in collaboration with French casino group Partouche, and a consortium made up of Get Nice Holdings and Current Corp.
Whilst local authorities have refused at this stage to name the last contenders to join the race, two are believed to be US-based casino groups with the third a casino operator based in Asia. They have been described as ‘mid-size’ ruling out the giants such as Las Vegas Sands, MGM or Melco, but have all expressed interest previously in other Japanese locations before opting for Nagasaki.
Only four locations have so far officially out themselves forward for an IR with Nagasaki in competition with Osaka, Wakayama and Yokohama. Nagasaki’s request-for-proposals will launch today (January 7).
The Nagasaki candidacy may benefit from the fact that the IR would be built adjacent to the Huis Ten Bosch theme park, which is already the top tourist attraction in Kyushu. High quality hotels are already there and so initial investment costs may be far lower than the other sites where most facilities need to be built from scratch.
Also, the political problems in Nagasaki are thought to be fewer due to the local government’s efforts to build consensus over a period of years. Most major stakeholders are already on board with the project, and polling suggests that the local population is not decidedly opposed to IR development, as is the case in most of the rest of Japan.
Source: GMB / AG Brief
