MGM launches Japan website

The company launched a Japan website in order to showcase the benefits that IRs can bring to local communities.

Japan keeps moving forward with its recently approved casino industry and companies from all over the world are interested in investing in the territory. MGM Resorts, one of the companies that declared its interest in the Asian country, has launched a new Japan website to inform the benefits of integrated resorts (IRs).

Representative officer and CEO of MGM Resorts Japan, Ed Bowers, said in September that MGM has 8 permanent Japan-based staff in the Tokyo office. The official told AGBrief that the website aims at providing education to the general public about the benefits that IRs bring to local communities. “We hope that it becomes a useful resource for all those in Japan interested in getting a better understanding of our diverse and complex industry,” he told the news outlet.

James Murren, CEO of MGM Resorts International said during a presentation at The Bank of America Merrill Lynch 2017 Japan Conference in September that a consortium to manage a casino in the Asian country would be Japanese-led, even though he didn’t specify if MGM would only look for a minority stake. During the briefing, the CEO said that the opening date for a casino might be pushed to 2025, and that the government selection of business operator parents is likely to happen sometime next year, with the concession of licenses from the government happening a year later. “We commit to being a good partner to Japanese companies in a Japanese-led IR [integrated resort] consortium,” said Murren.

Murren added that Japanese partners would likely be in charge of customer service, innovation, technology and project development, whilst MGM would operate the entertainment and marketing sector, as well as MICE and casino operations. The company has already said that it is interested in Tokyo, Osaka and Yokohama.