IRS

The Nagasaki Prefectural Government continues to distinguish itself as having the best managed bid in Japan’s IR development race, giving them a strong chance to become a licensed municipality.

China’s ongoing crackdown on casinos and junkets targeting its nationals may have long-term implications for the industry in Asia and force changes in the business models of many of the region’s integrated resorts.

Hope springs eternal in the minds of Tomakomai IR advocates. The answer delivered from the lips of Hokkaido Governor Naomichi Suzuki keeps coming back “no,” but what seems to be delivered to their ears is “maybe soon.”

While the gaming industry is focused on tourism numbers and movement restrictions, there are a number of shifting economic and social patterns emerging that could have longer-term implications for Asia’s integrated resort industry.

Macau law firm MdME Lawyers has created a digital transformation team to help its clients, including integrated resorts, adapt to new technology. The team will be led by recently appointed Victoria White, a former executive at Marina Bay Sands and Sands China.

Macau is set to face its biggest test of the mantra “if you build it, they will come,” as Sands China’s $2 billion “The Londoner” gets set to open its doors after the worst year in modern records for the world’s largest gambling hub. 

As Japan sinks into a deeper crisis over the Covid-19 pandemic, it would be natural that it might be overlooked. Indeed, the sensitivity of Japanese policymakers to overseas developments is often tenuous at best. But for the future of Japanese IRs generally—and for Osaka most specifically—stakeholders should be quaking with alarm over the most recent headlines regarding MGM Resorts.

While the pandemic may have brought tourism to a standstill, Suncity Group Holdings is showing no indication of slowing down its expansion plans in tandem, announcing an ambitious range of targets for 2021. 

Suncity Group Holdings says its Suntrust Home Developers unit has raised a total of PHP12.9 billion ($268.6 million) through the issue of convertible bonds to finance the development of an integrated resort in Manila.

One gaming operator to watch in 2021 will be India’s Delta Corp., whose stock got a mid-month bump in December after it announced it had received approval in principle to build an integrated resort on shore in Goa.