The battle for receiving a license for building an integrated resort in Japan rages on, as both casino operators and cities in Japan fight for their spot under the rising casino Sun that is soon going to shine on this country after the Japanese lawmakers put a series of legislations into action.
Eight Areas Interested In These Resorts
At the moment, there are eight areas in Japan whose leaders are interested in building an integrated resort, among them three big cities. Nagasaki has recently joined this race, as it is hoping to offer better conditions for starting one such projects on its land.
The Japanese government will issue a total of three licenses, meaning six places will no longer be up for consideration. The rivalry between cities and areas in the country is rising, and the tensions could become even higher before the Japanese government finally makes a selection.
The Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism, Kazuyoshi Akaba, stated recently that the licenses would not be issued for another two years. Akaba stated that after Kitakyushu City also joined the race.
Nagasaki Getting Serious
Nagasaki filed a Request for Concept (RFC) back on Oct. 2 where it stated that it is interested in developing an integrated resort, which would be located at Sasebo’s Huis Ten Bosch.
The RFC was pretty comprehensive, including things such as a very detailed business strategy, the design of the facility, guidelines for operations policy, and measures to counter problem gambling in the area.
In other words, the officials of Nagasaki made a detailed RFC, which placed Nagasaki among the most serious contenders.
Nagasaki Is Not Alone
The city of Nagasaki is not alone when it comes to building an integrated resort in that area. Namely, several other companies already displayed interest in taking part in building an integrated resort in that area, including a couple of local companies.
Moreover, some of the foreign investors that have their eyes set to Nagasaki include:
- Casinos Austria
- Get Nice Holdings
- NagaCorp
- Peermont Global
However, Nagasaki is not going to be the last city to file an RFC. There is speculation that a couple of additional cities or areas in Japan will also do the same.
Acepting Applications In 2021
All of them are working hard on creating their applications that they will have to send once the government of Japan begins accepting them. According to the government, they would start to accept applications in January 2021.
Therefore, all regions interested in building an integrated resort have enough time to prepare their applications well and send them to the government.
The government of Nagasaki has already taken some significant steps forward. Setting a budget plan, according to which they would require approximately between $3 billion and $5 billion for the integrated resort. However, many professionals believe that the number would increase if there are additional delays made by the government of Japan.
One thing is certain — Nagasaki is a very strong contender and could pose a serious threat to other areas in Japan.
