Japan remains an encouraging market for casino investment

rding to a report published last week by Fitch Ratings, Japanese gaming industry revenues could reach up to $9bn annually, if the country goes ahead with the construction of its initially planned integrated resorts.

The Global Gaming Handbook states that previous studies which had estimated Japan’s gross gaming revenue to achieve $20bn, failed to consider the limited footprint of the initial casinos relative to other jurisdictions that are more liberal in terms of gaming regulation such as Macau. Consequently, Japan's gross gaming revenue is expected to be between $6bn and $9bn, if IRs are given the green light.

“Given the likely physical restrictions, we do not think that estimates based on Japan’s GDP or loosely regulated pachinko industry are practical,” read the Fitch Ratings official report.

One of the reasons behind these speculated but promising figures is the involvement of foreign casino operators in the Nippon nation.

“For gaming operators, Japan provides an opportunity diversify their holdings and capitalise on the market’s solid supply/demand dynamics. However those benefits come at a cost – any Japanese project would likely be expensive and may pressure credit metrics,” said Alex Bumazhny, Senior Director of US Corporate.

In a recent interview with local news outlets, George Tanasijevich, CEO of Marina Bay Sands, has confirmed that the international operator is eyeing Japan to open a $10bn world-class integrated resort. Las Vegas Sands is looking to open a facility which would be larger than the firm’s Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, making it the largest investment ever made by the company into a single venue.