Osaka drops aim to open casino resort by March 2027

The local authorities have dropped the target opening date from official documents on the planned Yumeshima IR.

Japan.- Officials in Osaka have abandoned their target opening date for the proposed integrated resort on the artificial island of Yumeshima.

Back in 2019, a target opening was set for 2026. That was then pushed back to March 2027.

That date now appears to have been abandoned due to the ongoing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The national government has postponed the start of the period in which it will accept formal bids for Japan’s three planned IR licences from January until October.

Japan plans to award three IR licences under legislation passed in 2018 to legalise casino gaming in Japan.

Osaka’s prefectural and city governments will hold a meeting to approve their policy, which sets out details of the new schedule for the project and conditions for private partners.

It appears the authorities are now holding back from specifying an opening date but plan to open facilities in stages.

Last week, Osaka confirmed the names of the operators that are competing to become its partner for its IR bid.