Inside Asian Gaming

IAG JAPAN JAN 2021 20 Interest in Japan’s first IRs hit fever pitch with passage of the Integrated Resort (IR) Promotion Act in 2016 and the Integrated Resorts (IR) Implementation Act in 2018. 日本初のIRへの関心は、2016年のIR(統合型リゾート)推進法と2018年のIR整備法の成立で最 高潮に達した J apan has one of the world’s most developed economies, consisting of a population of 126 million people with a GDP per capita around US$40,000, making its US$5 trillion economy the third largest in the world after the US and China. Its sumptuous food and beverage offerings, well-developed infrastructure, spectacular cityscapes, beautiful countryside and unique, sophisticated culture all combine to create a highly coveted tourist destination drawing visitors from across the planet. One of the last remaining major developed economies of the world without a casino gaming industry, Japan has been talking about introducing such an industry for decades. Interest hit fever pitch a few years ago with the passage of the Integrated Resort (IR) Promotion Act in 2016 and the subsequent Integrated Resorts (IR) Implementation Act in 2018. Seemingly every major IR company in the world threw their hat into the ring, with many talking a big game. Potential investments in the billions were bandied about – as much as US$10 billion or possibly more. But fast forward to 2021 after the crippling global pandemic of the past 12 months, and where, exactly, does the burgeoning Japanese IR industry sit today? WHY? Why does Japan even need an IR industry? It already has gaming options, dominated by the enormous (but steadily declining) pachinko industry, which historically has had a GGR in the same ballpark as that of Macau’s COVER STORY