The city of Osaka has recently reacted to serious bribery allegations which involve a China-based 500.com lottery company. As reported Osaka is passing a new set of protocols that will cover all interactions happening between representatives of interested gaming operators and local officials.

According to reports by Inside Asian Gaming and several other local news outlets, these new guidelines or principles have been adopted by the Osaka Prefecture and they strictly forbid all government employees from meeting on their own with casino operators and gaming operators representatives without revealing the specific details of such meetings online.

Needless to say, these actions were driven by the ongoing bribery allegations which revolve around the 500.com lottery company and the Deputy Minister for the Ministry of Tourism, Transport, Infrastructure, and Land Tsukasa Akimoto. It was also revealed that several other Japanese officials are under suspicion.

Osaka Currently Sits in the Leader Position

It was also reported by Inside Asian Gaming that the city of Osaka currently sits in the leader position in the ongoing race which will secure a trio of Japanese casino resort licenses. The city of Osaka, as well as several other cities and prefectures in Japan, hope to be given such permissions so that they can bring envisioned, fully integrated casino resorts into their communities.

The city’s envisioned gambling venue is planned for a 121-acre plot of land located on Yumeshima Island. This project that including bringing a Las Vegas-style casino would also require the entire community of around twenty million citizens to choose an international casino partner. This contest, in particular, is now between three global brands including Galaxy Entertainment Group Limited, Genting Malaysia Berhad and MGM Resorts International.

Osaka Officials Prohibited from Holding Meetings with Casino Operator Representatives

Nonetheless, due to those ongoing bribery allegations, officials for the city of Osaka as well as its surrounding prefecture are currently prohibited from having meetings with casino operator representatives from the three companies as well as from other similar firms without firstly posting the purpose and date of the meeting on the nation’s government website.

The city’s jurisdictions explained that this new collection of principles or rules have been adopted in order to make sure that the entire selection process is conducted fairly at all times. It was also explained that the new set of principles does not cover short interfaces between casino operator representatives and local officials such as brief interactions and greetings.

As reported by all major local and foreign news outlets, the 500.com company located in Shenzhen was thrown into the public spotlight in December after a prominent Japanese politician Tsukasa Akimoto was arrested. The legislator was indicted on charges that he accepted around $65,370 from the Chinese company so that he smooths the company’s path towards being granted a license to construct and operate envisioned casino resort in either Okinawa or Hokkaido.

Commenting on the news about the new set of principles regarding meetings between local officials and representatives of casino operators, the city’s mayor Ichiro Matsui said that the major proponent of the new principles is to aid the city. Meanwhile, the prefecture’s Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura shared similar statements adding that the ongoing bribery allegations and scandal concerning Tsukasa Akimoto is not the fault of massive efforts to bring casino resorts to Japan, but it was caused by local politicians’ greed.

In the capital city of the Japanese Osaka Prefecture, the race for the city’s fully integrated casino resort is down to only three runners including the Genting Malaysia Berhad company, MGM Resorts International, and Galaxy Entertainment Group Limited. According to one reported by Inside Asian Gaming, the Honshu’s officials revealed back at the beginning of summer 2019 that seven international companies had expressed their interests in running the city’s envisioned casino resort.

However, as reported recently, this club of interested foreign companies has been thinned following decisions by the Las Vegas Sands Corporation company and Melco Resorts and Entertainment Limited to focus on two other Japanese cities instead of Osaka, Tokyo, and Yokohama. The same news outlet also reported that there are three foreign companies still interested in running the Osaka’s integrated casino resort.

The Trio Already Involved in the Request for Concept of the Bidding Process

As reported also by Inside Asia Gaming, the three foreign operators with a firm interest had already taken part in the bidding process’ RFC or request for concept part of the deal. Before doing so, the three runners were required to present a number of specifications for their envisioned developmental projects including the scale and size of their hotel facilities as well as size of their envisioned exhibition and convention facilities.

The three runners will soon engage in business talks with the Osaka’s officials before more formal talks can take place. Furthermore, the trio also has to reveal its formal RFP or request for proposal applications for the main selection process. Before selecting any project, the city of Osaka has to hold several public consultations. Moreover, the city also has to submit its final decision to Tokyo’s federal selectors.

Once one proposal is selected, the winning company will most likely be required to invest around $10 billion on building a Las Vegas-inspired facility which will feature not only a massive casino floor with thousands of games, but also several hotel facilities alongside exhibition and convention facilities and a special attraction aimed at international tourists outside of the Asian region.

The City Hopes to Have New Casino Resort Running by 2024

It was also reported that the city of Osaka hopes to utilize a massive, one hundred and twenty-one-acre plot located on Yumeshima Island for its integrated casino resort scheme. The city also hopes to have this newly integrated gambling-friendly facility running somewhere in 2024 ahead of its popular international exhibition the World Expo 2025. As previously mentioned, the three foreign companies which are still in the game including Genting Malaysia Berhad, MGM Resorts International, and Galaxy Entertainment Group Limited.

The company which has withdrawn from the city of Osaka’s race, Melco Resorts just recently announced its plans Yokohama First which will see the company focusing its efforts on the city of Yokohama instead of Osaka as previously envisioned. Another company followed these footsteps in abandoning Osaka, Las Vegas Sands which also wants to build in Yokohama or Tokyo. All on all, a bet on Yokohama or Tokyo is probably the right move for the company which will deal with some tough competition including Melco Resorts.

Several other big companies are extremely interested in Japan such as Wynn Resorts which also plans on expanding here in the time to come. All in all, both Melco Resorts and Wynn Resorts have said that Japan is among their most important expansion priorities. Since both of them are already present in Macao, they have proven their success in operating fully integrated, Asian casino resorts and this is what Japan also wants.

Just one day after Paradise-based Las Vegas Sands Corporation revealed publicly that the company is abandoning its plan to build and operate a luxurious casino resort in Osaka, the company’s biggest American rival and competition MGM Resorts International revealed that it stays committed to the city of Osaka. In fact, the company’s boss Jim Murren stated in his official press release that the MGM Resorts International remains committed to pursuing a fully integrated casino resort in Osaka.

This official revelation was immediately followed by the Las Vegas Sands Corporation’s official press release in which the company’s officials reveal that it will concentrate on the city of Yokohama instead of its initial plans which included managing a casino resort in Osaka. This news came shortly after it was revealed that Japan will be granting a trio of casino licenses for development projects in several cities including Yokohama and Osaka.

At the same time, the MGM Resorts International’s officials have already announced their Osaka First business strategy and they do not plan on wavering from that business plan. Mr. Murren also stated that he and his coworkers have had confidence in the company’s position in Japan. He also believes that MGM Resorts International can bring something to Osaka that only his company can successfully deliver.

Yokohama Joining the Race to Secure its Casino License

The city of Yokohoma has just recently announced that it will be finally lodging a public bid in order to secure one of the three gaming licenses which are currently being made after the country ratified last year’s proposed, Integrated Resort Implementation Bill. The city of Yokohama has more than 3.7 million residents while its close proximity to the country’s capital makes its one of the most attractive candidates to host a fully integrated entertainment and casino resort.

In fact, the city of Yokohama has an advantage over other runners including Chiba City, Osaka, and Sasebo. It was also revealed that the city’s officials were reluctant at the beginning to bid for one of the three gaming licenses owing to their concerns related to criminal activities and gambling addiction. However, the city’s Major Mr. Hayashi in an official press release said that such a facility will actually enable the city of Yokohama to attract both more foreign investment and more tourists.

One of the leading casino operators and the biggest MGM Resorts International rival, Las Vegas Sands Corporation reacted immediately after this revelation by saying that it has abandoned its plans to build in Osaka in favor of managing a casino resort in Yokohama. The company’s CEO used another statement to share more detail. In this statement, his proclaimed that investing in Yokohama or Tokyo gives his company the best business opportunity. He also added that his company is currently seeking business partners to help them with bringing a casino resort to the capital city of the Kanagawa Prefecture.

Several American Companies Interested in Bringing Casino Resorts to Japan

Alongside Las Vegas Sands Corporation, several other American casino giants such as Caesars Entertainment Corporation, and Wynn Resorts Limited are currently eyeing on the possibility of opening a casino resort in Japan. While MGM Resorts International stays focused on Osaka, these casino behemoths are more focused on Yokohama.

All in all, MGM Resorts International has grandiose plans for its Osaka casino resort. The company’s officials revealed that they will submit their official proposal in days to come in hopes of attracting some local allies.