Inside Asian Gaming

IAG JAPAN JAN 2022 20 I n May 2018 I chaired the Japan Gaming Congress, a major international conference in Tokyo produced by the organizers of the world’s largest gaming exhibition, ICE London. The approximately 600 delegates represented a veritable who’s who of the international IR business community, as well as a plethora of Japanese conglomerates and potential local suppliers – all looking to get a cut of the Japan IR action. Industry chatter about Japan ramped up through the 2010s. In 2014 and again in 2015 Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party said they were trying to get IRs open in time for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. In December 2016 Japan passed the Integrated Resort Promotion Act , which the Financial Times described as “fulfilling a cherished ambition of [then Japanese Prime Minister] Shinzo Abe and firing the starting gun on a race to control a potential $40 billion Japanese gaming industry.” The Integrated Resorts (IR) Implementation Act passed in July 2018. Just about everymajor IR operator in the world, and plenty of second and third-tier operators too, were salivating at the prospect of operating in what some described as the last great untapped IR market – the planet’s third-largest economy with a GDP around US$5 trillion and a population of 125 million. Many Japanese cities and prefectures created “IR promotion offices” tasked with exploring the opportunity. IRconceptsstartedsurfacing, taking advantage of Japan’s exquisite dining, beautiful design esthetic and fascinating COVER STORY