Osaka, Nagasaki Submit IR Bid To Japanese Government

Osaka Prefecture and Nagasaki Prefecture in Japan each submitted proposals for casino resorts to the Japanese government. The regional governors said in their respective announcements Tuesday that the applications were made in the form of an IR district development plan.

In Japan, a large casino complex with tourist facilities is known, so the deadline for interested prefectures to offer bids for an integrated resort (IR) is Thursday (April 28).

The estimated cost of the Nagasaki plan is 438.3 billion yen ($3.4 billion at current exchange rates), including 175.3 billion yen through equity capital. Osaka's resort complex requires an initial investment of 1.8 trillion yen, according to a previous statement, with an opening target date of 2029.

Osaka and Nagasaki became the only two remaining Japanese prefectures in the country's IR race after the Wakayama prefectural council rejected local plans for the casino resort.

Under Japan's existing liberalization program, up to three casino resorts can be allowed nationwide. The Japanese government calls for the IR regional development plan to include documentation as evidence of its ability to finance such a plan.

Local governments had to find private partners for their respective businesses before applying to the state for an integrated resort attraction.

Regulations governing the selection process do not mention a deadline for national government decisions on submitted applications. The industry's expectation, according to a correspondent at GGRAsia, is that a final decision could be made in autumn 2022.

The Osaka City Council approved in late March for local governments to apply to national authorities for the right to host integrated resorts in the region.

The consortium for Osaka Games Resort Tilt is led by U.S.-based casino operator MGM Resorts International and Orix of Japan.

At the plenary session of the Nagasaki Prefecture Council on April 20, the final draft of the IR District Development Plan, which contained the proposal for a casino complex in a large Japanese city, was put to a vote.

The update only mentions Nagasaki's private sector partner Casino Austria International Japan Inc as an equity investor in the project.

According to information gathered by GGRA's Japan correspondent, Nagasaki Prefecture's recently elected governor, Genko Oishi, said in a commentary on Tuesday that the prefecture's IR plans could not name funders.

BY: 파친코