Tokyo Casino on the Horizon? City Prepares Impact Study

Tokyo casino coming soon? City prepares impact study

Tokyo city officials will commission an impact assessment of the creation of an integrated resort. This is the first time the Japanese capital has shown concrete interest in participating in the country's upcoming casino market.

Opinion polls have shown widespread public opposition to casinos in Japan, and with Tokyo focused almost entirely on preparations for the 2020 Olympics, there has been speculation that Japan's largest city could withdraw from the race for one of the three available licenses.

In a report published last year, investor services firm Morningstar cited the local government's "lack of clarity" on casinos as a reason to exclude casinos from future markets, adding that unlike Osaka, Tokyo was not Integrated resorts are in dire need of economic recovery. bring.

But GGRAsia reported this week that the city announced on Monday it would commission an IR impact study and launch a tender process for the work.

Tokyo Casinos Will Dominate

Morgan Stanley estimates that Japan's casino market will be worth $15 billion a year by 2025, surpassing Las Vegas to become the world's second-largest gambling market after Macau.

If Tokyo joins, the country would have the largest market share, generating about 40% of the nation's gaming revenue and 50% of tourism spending, the analyst said, but noted there was no guarantee Tokyo would even apply for a license.

Based on the number of foreign tourists in each city, we estimate that about 50% of total foreign tourism revenue of $3.9 billion goes to Tokyo, 30% to Osaka, and 10% to third cities. "

“Based on income levels/GDP, infrastructure development and tourism attractiveness, we expect Tokyo to account for approximately 40% of the total GGR of US$15 billion, with a market size of US$6 billion, and Osaka, with a market size of US$4 billion, will be slightly smaller Some," it added.

A once in a lifetime opportunity

International casino operators are lining up to gain a foothold in the market and are ready to invest billions of dollars. Tokyo, Osaka, and Yokohama, as the most densely populated areas of Japan, are the most obvious choices for IR targeting. Operators must work with Japanese companies and prefectural governments to submit federal bids.

Officials in Japan's third-largest city, Osaka, are the most enthusiastic of the three about opening casinos, but in second-largest city Yokohama, they are less sure.

A recent survey commissioned by the Yokohama city government as part of broader economic research found that a whopping 94 percent of Yokohama residents said they had a "negative" view of the idea of hosting an integrated resort.