Las Vegas Sands pushes for Osaka IR

Las Vegas Sands’ president met with the Osaka governor to pitch its plans to develop an integrated resort in the prefecture.

Japan.- Osaka keeps coming up as a high demand destination for international casino operators to develop an integrated resort (IR) in Japan. That’s why the president of US-based operator Las Vegas Sands Corp, Robert Goldstein, met with Governor Ichiro Matsui and Osaka city Mayor Hirofumi Yoshimura to pitch the company’s plan to develop its own venue.

Osaka will host the World Exposition in 2025, which is why the authorities want to have a well-established casino industry by then. The plan is to conduct a bidding process to get an international operator to develop an IR on the World Expo venue Yumeshima, expected to open in 2024.

Mr Goldstein cited Las Vegas Sands’ success in Macau and Las Vegas and explained the local authorities that they want to draw up a plan to build “the greatest IR facility” in the prefecture.

Casino regulations in Japan are still under discussion, which is why a government panel has suggested that the maximum space for casinos should be set at 3% of the total space of each integrated resort. The Japanese authorities are closing in on the final regulations for the segment and expect to open the first venues by the 2025 World Expo, to be held in Osaka.

It is expected that the government will ready a decree by late April next year after finalising the specific figures for several requirements to be enforced in casinos.