Genting Singapore said it was "surprised and disappointed" with the city of Yokohama decision to pull out of a bid to host an integrated resort.

Hardline anti-IR candidate Takeharu Yamanaka has won the Yokohama mayoral race, dealing a blow to the city's casino hopes and for Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.

Yokohama is likely to proceed with its IR plans following upcoming mayoral elections Genting Singapore and Sega Sammy is seen as the winner, Maybank says.

“If I do become mayor, the first thing I will do is stop the Integrated Resort plan.” So declared Hachiro Okonogi, the presumed ruling party candidate, at a press conference on Friday.

In an unexpected move, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party appears headed toward backing a candidate for Yokohama mayor who will campaign on a platform of opposing the current Yokohama IR development plans.

Sega Sammy plans to spend Y120 billion on its participation in an IR in Yokohama, which if successful is likely to open in the late 2020s, it said.

As the dust settles from the withdrawal of multiple operators, it now appears that the Yokohama IR race effectively pits Melco Resorts against Genting Singapore.

Genting Singapore is in a strong position to win a license for an integrated resort in Yokohama, which has the potential to generate gross gambling revenue of about $7 billion a year, Maybank Research said.

Galaxy Entertainment has announced that it is dropping out of the race to build a major urban IR at Yamashita Pier in Yokohama, Japan.

Kenji Eda, a prominent opposition House of Representatives lawmaker based in a Yokohama district, has challenged the IR project in Diet debate and in his speeches from a very different perspective than most—among other things, he argues that digitization is likely to undermine the profitability of casinos in Japan by the time they open.