by James Ruggia
Last updated: 12:28 PM ET, Sun December 15, 2013
On May 14-16, senior members of the international gaming industry will gather in Tokyo for the first Japan Gaming Congress (JgC).
The show will be put on by Clarion Events. Keynote speaker Michael Leven, president and COO of Las Vegas Sands and other speakers will address the various models of casino gambling and models of regulatory environment for casino success in Japan.
"With Japanese lawmakers from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party submitting a bill to legalize casinos to parliament last week," said Leven, "Clarion's Japan Gaming Congress in May next year is extremely timely and represents a unique opportunity for dialogue on the key requirements needed to successfully enter into the Japanese market."
Though there's been considerable support for the legalization of casino gambling in Japan for more than a decade, support has gathered a strong momentum recently as Japanese tourism officials have observed the success of casinos in Macau and Singapore. Japan already sanctions gambling on various types of racing (such as horse racing) and lotteries.
The bill that was filed on Dec. 6 in the Japanese DIET, the country's parliament, has bipartisan support though it's heavily driven by Japan's current ruling party, the Liberal Democratic Party, headed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. If the bill prevails, Japan could begin issuing licenses by 2016.
The enormous success of gambling in Macau and the advent of the Chinese market is compelling all destinations within a short flight of China to consider gaming. Sydney is constructing a major casino in its new Barangaroo area.
Since it opened, Singapore's $6 billion Marina Bay Sands has added a whole new dimension to the Lion City. Macau's transformation from sleepy Portuguese colony to the adrenal center of Pearl River Delta tourism has caught the entire region by surprise.
Industry estimates reckon that Japan could generate between $13.4 and $15 billion a year from gambling, which would make it the world's second most lucrative gambling destination after Macau, which earns more than $38 billion per year, six times what Las Vegas earns annually.
Gaming could help Japan reach its stated goal of 30 million foreign tourists a year by 2030 and at revenues that would dwarf the yield per head that Japan got from the 8.4 million tourists who arrived in 2012. No wonder a critical mass of Japanese political will now hopes to establish casinos in Japan before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
"With the DIET likely to vote on the bill in Q2 of 2014, the (May Gaming) Congress will offer a unique opportunity for delegates to join key government officials, operators and legal experts as they provide first-hand experiences on the main points of the proposed regulatory frameworks, which will help in planning entry strategy into the market accordingly," said Kate Chambers, portfolio director at Clarion Events.
According to reports, Japan is more likely to go for Singapore's more muted Marina Sands model than the bright lights big city Las Vegas model that's done so well in Macau.
Once the bill passes, the debate will move to the competition between destinations for casinos. While Steve Wynn has expressed interest in the potential of such big cities as Tokyo and Osaka, smaller cities see casinos as a way to revitalize their fortunes.
Two kinds of licenses are being considered: licenses for large integrated resorts with a full range of convention and entertainment facilities and licenses another for smaller rural resorts. The list of destinations that has been mentioned include Tokyo, Osaka, Atami (Shizuoka Prefecture), Naruto (Tokushima Prefecture), Hokkaido (Sapporo, Otaru, Tomakomai and Kushiro), Sapporo and the semi-tropic beach areas of Okinawa.
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