2020 Olympics Make Japan Attractive Target for Casino Development

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Tuesday, September 10th, 2013 | Written by Shane Larson

Casino companies are suddenly turning an eye to the Land of the Rising Sun, as Tokyo has been tapped to host the 2020 Olympic Games.

Bloomberg Businessweek has reported that MGM, Caesars, and the Las Vegas Sands Corp. are all looking into developing properties in Japan, which stands to benefit by a great increase in hotel room availability if it moves to allow land-based casinos to be constructed.

Legislation passage required before projects can move forward

Before casinos can be built in the capital or elsewhere in Japan, casino legislation will need to be passed, something that experts feel confident will happen as Japan looks to capitalize on the 2020 Olympics.

Remarked Jay Defibaugh, who is an analyst at Tokyo’s CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets, “Victory for Tokyo’s Olympic bid will be beneficial for legislation to legalize casinos. We have all the ingredients to make it happen, so anything that gets the administration to put a high priority on casinos versus all the other issues they’re dealing with is good.”

Defibaugh was quoted as saying he believed legislation to introduced legal casino gambling in Japan could be passed as early as next month or in November. Legislator Takeshi Iwaya has stated that he intends to introduce a casino bill in the fall.

Past casino bill failed to succeed

Casino legalization was put forward back in 2011 in the aftermath of the tsunami that hit the country, whose economic and environmental impacts are still being felt in Tokyo as the government struggles to clean up nuclear contamination in the fallout zone. That legislation, designed to raise revenue, did not pass.

Japan’s current liberal Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, is viewed as being amenable to casino regulation, raising the hopes that new legislation put forward will have a good chance of being enacted into law.

Speaking to Abe’s openness to casino gaming, CEO of Sands in Singapore George Tanasijevich said, “What you’ve seen since the Abe administration has come in is they have put strong leadership on these issues. I feel quite optimistic about it.”

Infrastructural improvements required in run-up to event

According to Bloomberg, before the commencement of the games, major infrastructure upgrades will be required to accommodate the influx of athletes and those who come to see them compete. Many new hotel facilities will be necessary, as will improvements to transit, roads, and so forth.

In this sense, the casino industry is well-poised to enter the Japanese market at this time, as the construction of major casino resorts necessitates similar improvements. Moreover, the erection of massive, Las Vegas-style resorts could serve to provide accommodations for the throngs of visitors expected to descend on Tokyo during the Olympics.

Industry experts estimate that should casino legislation go forward, resorts could be up and running in the year 2019 or 2020, just in time to coincide with the 2020 games.

Olympics should help uplift Japan’s flagging economic situation

Japan, which has seen its economy remain sluggish for decades as it faces an aging population among other issues, is looking to the games to provide a desperately needed financial boost. Revenue from poker, casino games, and other ancillary businesses could serve to add to the windfall predicted to accompany the Olympics.

Tokyo’s Governor, Naoki Inose, expounded on that theme this week, suggesting that the excitement surrounding the 2020 Olympics has the potential to reverse the bad fortunes of the nation and to put devastating events in the past.

“”It’s all ahead of us. Let’s all pull together as a nation,” Inose said.

Japan has not hosted an Olympic Games since 1964.