Japan National IR casino opening delayed beyond 2025
Plans to open the first integrated casino resort in Japan suffered a setback after an official announcement at a joint subcommittee meeting moved the original 2025 date to the latter half of the 2020s.
IR casino opening delayed until late 2020
The Japanese government has admitted that it will not be able to launch its first IR casino until the end of 2025 r., Following an earlier announcement that postponed the application period for local governments, which was scheduled to begin in January 2021, But now it will be run in October. 2021, delay 9 months.
Japan Tourism Agency noted the significant decline in visitor arrivals to the country since the coronavirus outbreak, and local governments locating efforts and resources to combat the further spread of the infection, coupled with global travel restrictions, forced a review Basic project policies in October.
The new policy included additional health and safety measures and cleaning and decontamination requirements to address casinos that facilitate the spread of infectious viral diseases. In addition, the revised draft provided that operators should implement measures to protect against gambling-related hazards to address the prefectures' increased vulnerability to gambling addiction.
Japan's government is expected to evaluate and adopt a revised policy by the end of the year, a decision that will affect request for proposal (RFP) at least 4 prefectures that have so far expressed strong interest in competing for one of the three IR casino slots available nationwide.
Potential candidates
Nagasaki Prefecture announced intention to participate in national IR tilt, proposing IR casino near theme park Huis Ten Bosch. Recently, prefectural officials expressed openness to further interest from the private sector before officially launching a request for proposals to add up to 4 strong candidates to work with the local government.
Osaka and its project Yumeshima IR, after delays and delays , took a sharp turn after a referendum vote rejected proposals for administrative reorganisation and prompted Mayor of Osaka Ichiro Matsui to announce his intention to withdraw from politics at the end of his term. Although this did not directly affect IR's plans, the negative vote influenced the leaders and champions behind IR's proposal, casting further doubt on the future of the project.
Japan Prefecture Wakayama announced in May , that it would delay the RFP process to move the initial August 31 deadline for applicants to submit proposals to October 19, as the prefecture was affected by a period of state of emergency that restricted domestic travel and business activity. In November, Wakayama announced it would extend the planned opening of an IR casino on an artificial island Wakayama Marina City by one year, until the spring of 2026.
Fourth candidate, Yokohama , also failed after a group of residents submitted a petition backed by 200,000 signatures asking for a referendum on the IR bid, prompting Mayor of Yokohama Fumiko Hayashi to express the public's concerns and worries about the implementation of the IR project in the region.
