Inside Asian Gaming

IAG JAPAN JUN 2019 8 Crystal ball gazing in Japan T here was no shortage of opinion during last month’s Japan Gaming Congress on the likely locations of Japan's first IRs, with some compelling arguments put forward across the board. For the sake of staying on trend, I’ll throw my hat into the ring too and name Osaka, Yokahama and Nagasaki as my chosen three, with an honorable mention for Hokkaido. Of course, this is little more than educated speculation, but the three locations all make sense in one way or another. There is general agreement that Osaka is a lock for the “first” Japanese IR license. It has long been the only Japanese location to enjoy mutual consensus at both state and city level as well as securing reasonable support from the community. It was also the first to identify its IR site on Yumeshima Island, including a detailed plan regarding infrastructure upgrades and the convenience of a World Expo in 2025 to support any development. The city is small by metropolitan city standards, with a population base of just over 2.5 million – around a quarter of the 9.5 million people in Tokyo – but 9 million reside in Osaka prefecture and the two-and- a-half-hour ride from Tokyo on the bullet train is comfortable and efficient. Yokohama is yet to commit to an IR bid but the planets appear to be aligning on a government level and with Tokyo having thus far shown little interest, the nearby port city makes a lot of sense. It was noted during an event in Tokyo Midtown that I attended a few weeks back that one of Yokohama’s biggest economic impediments right now is the fact that it acquires so many of its materials and resources from Tokyo. An IR, it was speculated, could provide a reason to focus such demands on local business instead. From a tourist perspective, Yokohama is just a short 40-minute train ride from Tokyo and provides easier access to major tourist attractions such as Mt Fuji. Again, a proposed potential price tag of up to US$12 billion hasn’t scared away the big operators with at least six recently named among the interested contenders, and recent comments suggest tangible interest from mayor Fumiko Hayashi. Finally Nagasaki, which benefits from vastly superior infrastructure than its regional competitors and has also confirmed its proposed location alongside an already established tourist attraction – the Dutch-inspired theme park Huis Ten Bosch. In fact, the owners of Huis Ten Bosch have agreed to sell 30 hectares of its adjacent land to whichever Nagasaki operator wins its IR bid. There are, IAG has been told, 11 locations nationwide that will submit formal bids when the time comes and the likes of Wakayama and Hokkaido certainly have strong claims of their own, so time will tell how my crystal ball gazing pans out. www.asgam.com EDITORIAL Ben Blaschke Managing Editor We crave your feedback. Please email your comments to bb@asgam.com.