Archive

_2021-03-19
Japan’s IR process appears to move forward in fits and starts, but there were two noteworthy events to emerge at the end of the week that advance the slow process towards the country's first casinos.

_2021-03-19
The Osaka Prefecture, which currently has MGM Resorts as a sole bidder for a license, has said it will consider further proposals, with documents to be submitted by April 6th.

_2021-02-11
The Osaka government has given up on specifying in its official documents when the prospective Yumeshima IR would actually have its full opening. The target date has had to be revised backward several times, and at this point the authorities feel that...

_2021-01-07
As Japan sinks into a deeper crisis over the Covid-19 pandemic, it would be natural that it might be overlooked. Indeed, the sensitivity of Japanese policymakers to overseas developments is often tenuous at best. But for the future of Japanese IRs generally—and...

_2020-12-23
Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura has indicated that his government will not make a final decision on its operator consortium partner until autumn 2021. At present, only the MGM-Orix consortium is an accepted bidder.

_2020-12-04
It has been reported that the local governments of Osaka plan to conduct a review of the IR development schedule and selection of their consortium partner in January.

_2020-09-25
If it can be said that Yoshihide Suga’s emergence as prime minister of Japan is something of a poisoned chalice for Yokohama’s IR bid, for the leaders of Osaka, it is, in contrast, both uncomplicated and quite beneficial.

_2020-08-02
In an earnings conference call held at the end of last week, MGM President and CEO Bill Hornbuckle revealed that his firm was not committed to moving

_2020-07-10
Uncertainty over further schedule delays and concerns about a reduced scale for IR development on Yumeshima is causing local railways to consider scal

_2020-06-23
Osaka Mayor Ichiro Matsui and Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura have indicated that, due to impact of the coronavirus, it is currently not possible to set a

_2020-06-05
Osaka Mayor Ichiro Matsui announced at a Thursday press conference that an extra six months would be necessary for IR operators to submit all of their

_2019-12-15
Osaka Mayor Ichiro Matsui indicated at a press conference on Friday that he had effectively given up on his long-cherished goal to open the Yumeshima IR before the 2025 World Expo, and that in fact the bidders would only be asked to commit to a FY2026...

_2019-11-22
It was considered a foregone conclusion in gaming circles that Osaka will be a venue for one of the first three integrated resorts in Japan, though the entry of Yokohama into the race and shifting political sands highlight the fact that nothing should...

_2019-10-23
Galaxy Entertainment held a press event in Osaka on Wednesday to make their local pitch, providing competition for MGM Resorts. 

_2019-10-11
Yokohama Mayor Fumiko Hayashi's announcement that her government would make an IR bid reshaped the licensing race in a way that few other events have done.

_2019-08-14
Las Vegas Sands has announced that it has become a top-tier sponsor for the Summer Sonic 2019 rock music festival to be held at Osaka’s Maishima Sonic Park for three days from August 16.

_2019-02-14
Osaka Mayor Hirofumi Yoshimura revealed in an interview with the Sankei Shinbun that he envisions attracting Formula One racing to Yumeshima after the

_2018-02-26
On Wednesday last week, the Osaka Prefectural Government announced that PwC had won the bid to become its consultant and partner in handling the IR de

_2018-01-28
On Friday, the Osaka city government announced that it had sold four lots of land on Sakishima—an island facing across a narrow channel to the antic