Japan experts consider further cities for IR

Japanese gaming industry’s experts included further cities in potential locations for integrated resorts.

Japan.- Gaming industry experts from Japan this weekend released an assessment about the upcoming casino development considering that not only Tokyo and Yokohama are the potential locations where integrated resorts are going to be installed. The analysis considers that the “political realities of Japanese local communities” could set both cities as inconvenient locations for casino developments.

According to the report, released by AGBrief, politically “there’s no reason to believe that Governor Yuriko Koike desires the kind of political fight that it would take to propel a strikingly unpopular casino initiative.” Meanwhile, in the case of Yokohama the possibilities are better but not sure yet.

“Mayor Hayashi says she hasn’t made any decision yet, and she may indeed decide that the prize isn’t worth the struggle,” explains the assessment. “At any rate, there’s no reason to automatically assume that there will be a Yokohama bid.”

Japan will likely pass its Integrated Resorts Implementation Bill during the second half of this year or the first half of 2019. Despite the excitement surrounding integrated resorts (IR) in Japan, experts say that it might still be a while before they finally open. According to panellists at the ASEAN Gaming Summit, major venues in the country could take until at least 2026 before they finally open as they still have hurdles ahead prior to the Implementation Bill’s approval.