Japanese IRs to open in 2025

According to experts, integrated resorts would be ready to start operating by the end of 2024 or 2025.

Japan.- The Japanese central government had an Experts’ Committee studying how to deploy the industry in the country before passing its correspondent legislation. Kentaro Maruta was one of the group’s members and asserted that the casino segment would be ready by the end of 2024 or 2025.

Mr Maruta made his assessment on the casino industry’s timeline before an audience of local politicians and businesspeople during a meeting of the Association to Consider MICE and IR in the Makuhari New City Center. He also suggested that the Casino Management Committee should launch by mid-2019, followed by the selection of consortium partners by local governments during the summer of 2020, with the three IRs expected to be licensed in 2021. Should that schedule be completed, the industry would be able to go live in 2025.

Maruta, who is a partner at KPMG Tokyo, highlighted that it’s very important that host communities and their local governments’ understanding is a key factor for the industry’s success. Meanwhile, it is yet to be determined where gaming developments will be installed, but Yokohama, Osaka, Nagasaki and Hokkaido are among the top candidates.