Although there have been some delays on the way, the plans of the Japanese Government to bring casino gambling to the country through so-called integrated casino resorts are moving forward.
The Prefectures of Nagasaki and Wakayama have been among the most active areas around the country that are willing to compete for an official permit to host one of the three integrated casino resorts set to be established in Japan.
Nagasaki Prefecture Holds Briefing Session on IR Casino Project
Sasebo City in Nagasaki Prefecture saw a briefing session held several days ago, on November 18th, especially for local businesses. At the event, Casinos Austria International Japan, which is one of the companies willing to get a Japanese casino operating license, provided more details about some of its plans related to the potential establishment of the pursued gambling and entertainment venue.
The briefing, which gathered more than 1,000 attendees from local companies and operators from outside the prefecture, was held by the Sasebo Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Local Governments officials also took part in the briefing. According to media reports, the president of Casinos Austria International Japan – Akio Hayashi – was also present at the briefing and confirmed that the operator would do its best to be eventually granted the national project and contribute for everyone.
At the briefing, some officials of the prefecture highlighted the economic ripple effects associated with attracting international and domestic visitors to the potential integrated casino resort. They also shared their views on the effects that such a project would have on employment related to the development of such a large-scale project involving a hotel, a MICE facility and a casino.
It also became clear that the prefecture of Nagasaki and Casinos Austria International Japan will prepare an area development plan that is expected to be submitted to the country’s Central Government by April 28th, 2022. As previously reported by CasinoGamesPro, the national Government of Japan plans to award a maximum number of 3 operating licenses for 3 locations across the country.
Wakayama Prefecture Postpones Briefing on IR Casino Due to Insufficient Information
On the other hand, the Wakayama Prefecture has seen some delays due to some late resistance faced by the integrated casino resorts plans. Local authorities revealed that the scheduled resident briefings and feedback sessions that were supposed to take place from November 25th to December 5th at a total of 14 locations across the Prefecture are set to be put off due to a lack of information.
Last week, a special committee meeting of the prefectural council was attended by Wakayama’s chosen integrated resort partner, Clairvest Neem Ventures. The company was selected by Wakayama Prefecture’s authorities as the preferred candidate to establish an integrated casino resort and is currently working with local authorities to create an area development plan that is set to be officially submitted to the Central Government before the deadline in April 2022.
At the meeting, the plans of the company for establishing a MICE facility and the Prefecture’s involvement in building and operating the facility were also discussed. Council members were willing to get more information about the funding and the involvement in the operation but both the Prefecture and its chosen commercial partner refused to answer.
As a result, the committee said that local residents had not been provided with enough information on the matter and the briefing sessions should be postponed. Another briefing is set to be held in February 2022.
