Wakayama prefecture has confirmed to Inside Asian Gaming that it will announce its selected operator candidate for an integrated resort by the end of this month. The prefecture stopped accepting RFP documentation from candidate operators on 15 January, receiving applications from just two candidates – Suncity Group Holdings Japan Co Ltd and Clairvest Neem Ventures (Tokyo). Wakayama had established a selection committee ...

Japan’s Wakayama prefecture confirmed on Friday (January 15) that no new suitors interested in being private-sector partner for the local government’s tilt at a casino resort, had come forward to make submissions for its pushed-back request-for-proposal (RFP) phase. The interested parties that did make submissions by the time of Friday’s RFP revised deadline, were the same entities that had already ...

The end of last week saw the authorities in Japan’s Wakayama prefecture confirm there were no new applicants interested in becoming a private-sector partner for the local government in pursuit of one of the three integrated casino resorts that are set to be established in the country. As prefecture officials revealed, no new companies had expressed interest to make submissions for the prefecture’s delayed request-for-proposal ...

It’s looking more likely, despite a recent setback due to an increase in COVID-19 cases, that Japan is going to be able to make progress this year with its plans to introduce integrated resorts (IR) to the country. There has already been movement since the new year started, with Nagasaki already launching its request-for-proposal (RFP) process and Yokohama set to get its RFP ...

The Wakayama prefecture has announced its implementation policy for an integrated resort bid. The policy sets out objectives for a wellness and sports-focused IR that aims to revitalise the local economy, attracting visitors from within Japan and abroad, creating “significant economic and employment effects.” It calls on potential private operators to prioritise the waterfront location, hot springs, food culture and ...

At least three foreign casino resort operators have expressed an interest in the integrated resort (IR) licence in Nagasaki, according to Japanese newspaper Nagasaki Shimbun. The prefecture’s Request for Proposal (RFP) is set to launch on 7 January 2021, with four candidates already in line to take part; Casinos Austria, Oshidori International Holdings, Pixel Companyz, and a consortium comprising Current ...

The prefecture of Wakayama has postponed by almost three months its deadline for the so-called request-for-proposal (RFP) submissions from companies operating in the private sector that are willing to get permission to operate an integrated casino resort in Japan. Now, the Wakayama prefectural authorities said that such request-for-proposal submissions must be made by January 15th, 2021. The previous deadline that was unveiled by the ...

Japan’s Wakayama prefecture has pushed back by almost three months its deadline for request-for-proposal (RFP) submissions from private-sector, would-be partners for its tilt at having a casino resort. Such RFP submissions must now be made by January 15 next year, versus the earlier deadline of October 19 this year, according to information collated by GGRAsia’s Japan correspondent. That and other ...

Authorities in Wakayama Prefecture of Japan said on Friday that they would soon announce a new schedule revision on the local processes required for the tilt of that community to get a casino resort. The local timetable for Wakayama’s so-called request-for-proposal (RFP) materials had previously shifted from the end of August to October 19. The flagging of yet another local ...

Wakayama Governor Yoshinobu Nisaka slapped down opponents of the proposed bid by the prefecture to build an integrated resort, telling a group of residents against the bid,” It is irresponsible to future generations to stop a bid because you may dislike it.” His remarks were in response to the community sending a petition against any IR offer – one of ...

Wakayama Governor Yoshinobu Nisaka has slapped down opponents of the prefecture’s planned bid to develop an integrated resort, telling a residents group opposing the bid, “It is irresponsible to future generations to stop a bid because you may dislike it.” His comments were in response to the group submitting a petition opposing any IR bid – one of three organizations ...

The Suncity casino junket brand, which has expressed interest in developing a casino resort project in Wakayama prefecture, Japan, gave a media preview on Wednesday there, for what was termed an IR promotion base due to open to the public on Friday (September 11). In Japan, casino complexes with large-scale tourism facilities are known as integrated resorts (IRs). Suncity Group ...

Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, both prefectures have decided to delay the selection of a private-sector partner, a necessary step in order to make a bid for one of Japan’s first three integrated resort licences. Osaka and Wakayama prefectures have opted to postpone the administrative groundwork necessary to make a bid for one of the country’s first three integrated resort ...

IAG takes a look at how Wakayama prefecture is responding to concerns over an IR development by local opposition groups. Ever since it was decided that integrated resorts would grace the islands of Japan, the “casino” part of the equation has sparked active debate. The fact that casinos represent the driving engine of IRs is the main issue all of Japan’s ...

Japan’s nascent casino industry is unlikely to achieve its full revenue potential and may even struggle to get off the ground if the country’s regional governments partner with underqualified applicants whose enterprises are unable to receive capital markets financing and who lack meaningful knowledge developing and operating successful integrated resorts. Competition is heating up for what is to be a ...

Japan’s integrated resort (IR) process has gulped along, with most parties pretty content that timelines are long enough that they can still hit their goals even though the global pandemic has ruined the plans for many things. Wakayama region has confirmed to GGRAsia that they will not be hitting their mid-November 2020 goal of choosing an IR associate. According to Wakayama, COVID-19 ...

The authorities in Osaka city (pictured) said on Thursday that a key phase in the city’s effort to get a casino resort would be put back by a further six months. Osaka’s mayor, Ichiro Matsui, said at a regular press briefing that the authorities had also amended their timetable for opening such a gaming resort in the metropolis, according to GGRAsia’s correspondent in Japan. According to Thursday’s announcement, the deadline ...

Wakayama prefecture announced Monday that it will extend the deadline for operators to submit material as part of the Request for Proposal (RFP) process by almost two months, from 31 August to 19 October, due to the impact of COVID-19. The delay comes after just two companies, Hong Kong’s Suncity Group and Canadian IR investment firm Clairvest Group, responded to ...

The Wakayama Prefecture government in Japan is extending its deadline to select which integrated resort (IR) casino operator to partner with from this November to January 2021. Wakayama will take additional time before settling on an integrated casino resort. GGRAsia confirmed the delay, local authorities telling the media outlet that the decision was made in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Prime ...

The authorities in Japan’s Wakayama prefecture (pictured) announced on Monday that they would only aim to select by January 2021 – instead of mid-November this year – a private-sector partner for the prefecture’s tilt at having a casino complex or integrated resort (IR). The prefecture confirmed to GGRAsia in an email that the Covid-19 emergency recently experienced by Japan had ...

While the global pandemic has ruined the plans for many things, Japan’s integrated resort (IR) process has chugged along, with most parties pretty content that timelines are long enough that they can still hit their goals. Wakayama prefecture might cut it a little close though, as they have confirmed to GGRAsia that they won’t be hitting their mid-November 2020 goal of selecting ...

One of two companies to respond to Wakayama’s RFP assessment call in April, Suncity Group has grand plans for a Japanese integrated resort with its IR2.0 concept. It was August 2019 when Suncity Group first unveiled its concept for an integrated resort in the Japanese prefecture of Wakayama, located on the southernmost point of the Kansai region’s Honshū island. The ...

The authorities in Japan’s Wakayama prefecture announced on Friday that only two companies had submitted application documents for its request-for-proposal (RFP) process to choose a private-sector consortium as partner for its tilt to host a casino resort, or integrated resort (IR) as these schemes are known in that country. According to the local government, the two participating companies were: Suncity ...

Suncity launches Japanese website, unveils Wakayama IR concept Wakayama has announced that two companies have responded to the prefecture’s RFP assessment call, which ran from late March to the end of April as part of the IR bid process. The applicants were Suncity Group Holdings Japan Co Ltd, the Japanese arm of Hong Kong’s Suncity Group, and Clairvest Neem Ventures which ...

The government of Japan’s Wakayama prefecture (pictured) told GGRAsia on Friday that it is sticking to the previously-mentioned timeline for its request-for-proposal (RFP) process to choose a private-sector consortium as partner for its tilt to host a casino resort. That is despite the national government on Thursday extending across the whole country a state of emergency in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. “We ...