Foreign operators may not be allowed majority stakes in Japanese casinos

The House of Councilors in Japan has not yet finalised the decision and voting on the proposed Integrated Resorts (IR) bill that would allow casinos in the country. Some industry watchers are of the opinion that even though bill would allow casinos in the country, foreign players may not be allowed to have majority stakes in the casinos.

David Bonnet, the managing partner of Delta State Holdings one of them. He says that, international companies will not hold the majority of Japan’s first IRs.

He said during a press conference:  “We know the Japanese government has a preference for public-private partnerships or working with established Japanese companies.”

According to Mr Bonnet, Japanese companies have only been keeping a low profile since casinos are not legalised yet. However, once it happens, he says “you will see departments becoming formed, part of their real estate departments, and you can say that a lot of companies will start looking at the IR business much more holistically.”

Furthermore, he expects the winner of the IR licence to be “the group that promises to build the biggest Integrated Resort with the smallest casino,” and added that he is optimistic about the industry’s performance after casinos are opened in 2020.

Source: focusgn.com