Major Competition in Japan for the Rights to Hosting the First Ever Legal Casino Resort

In the wake of the new legislation for the establishment of integrated resorts in the country, the lawmakers in Japan are already having extensive discussions on the structure of such operations. In addition to this, the new legislation has also sparked a heated debate as to which region among Wakayama and neighboring Osaka will receive the rights for establishing the first ever legalized gaming operations in the country.

Currently, there are talks for choosing the artificial island Yumeshima situated in the Osaka Bay as the top candidate for opening the first ever integrated resort in Japan. However, two other regions including the Wakayama Prefecture’s Wakayama Marina City and the Osaka Prefecture’s Rinku Town of Izumisano are already lobbying to be chosen as the host for the ultimate tourist attraction on Japanese soil.

Given its convenient location with respect to the famous Kansai Airport of southern Osaka, the Rinku Town is being deemed as an ideal spot for hosting the IR since it will inevitably attract massive tourist crowds on their way to and from the airport. In addition to this, Rinku Town also features a number of logistics centers, offices and shopping centers and was proposed as a suitable casino site by lawmakers and local business groups in the Osaka Prefecture back in 2002.

A resolution was soon introduced back in 2013 by the city of Izumisamo for the development of the area as a casino site and a local committee was formulated to further address the issue. A survey conducted in 2013 exhibited that a total of 68% of the area’s residents stood in support of lifting the casino gambling ban, which was ensured in the revised DIET legislation last year.

On the other hand, the Wakayama Prefecture which is located at a 70 minute drive from downtown Osaka and 45 minute drive from the airport in Kansai, is also making sincere efforts to achieve the casino resort rights for Wakayama Marina City. Located down south, the Wakayama Prefecture is being touted as an ideal site for the resort given the fact that the Kansai Airport is frequented by as many as 6 million foreign travelers on a regular basis, ensuring huge profits for the gambling industry. The proponents have also assured that unlike Yumeshima, the Marina City will immediately start the process of establishment of the required infrastructure if the city is awarded the license.