Can Sapporo Attract Major Casino Firm to Bet on Japan? Hokkaido Studying IR Feasibility

Japan is widely expected to reopen bidding next year for two remaining casino licenses authorized through legislation passed in 2018. A new report suggests at least one major prefecture is interested in the gaming opportunity.

The Cabinet of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi issued an order in April pledging the government’s continued support of promoting Japan as a “tourism nation.”

The notice revealed that Takaichi, the president of the Liberal Democratic Party who is considered a protégé of Shinzo Abe, the late prime minister who championed the 2018 casino bill, will carry on his wishes to diversify Japan’s leisure attractions. The integrated resort bill is also designed to make Japan a premier destination in Asia for global MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions, and exhibitions) events.

GGRAsia, an online news source for gaming across Asia, reported today that Hokkaido is reviving its interest in the forthcoming IR market. Almost six years after Japan’s National Diet passed the gaming bill, only one casino project, the ¥1.27 trillion (US$7.8 billion) MGM Osaka, has been greenlit.

Hokkaido Fielding Interest

GGRAsia reports that the Hokkaido Prefecture will soon solicit interest from global casino companies and gauge banks’ willingness to participate in a likely multibillion-dollar casino resort project.

Though Hokkaido is Japan’s second-largest prefecture by area, it ranks ninth in population with about five million people. Hokkaido is Japan’s northernmost prefecture. Osaka is the third-most populous prefecture with 8.8 million people.  

Hokkaido previously expressed interest in a casino, with its capital, Sapporo, mentioned as a possible host site. Sapporo is where Japan’s oldest beer brand originated, though today the Sapporo brewery is headquartered in Tokyo.

In 2019, Mohegan, the commercial gaming unit of the Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut, opened an office in Hokkaido’s Tomakomai.

“At the Tomakomai office, we plan to install not only the Mohegan company profile but Mohegan’s corporate philosophy, corporate social responsibility (CSR) business model, and an IR vision book,” a company statement at the time read.

Mohegan’s Hokkaido office was short-lived, as its Japan IR headquarters was closed by the end of 2019. Mohegan instead focused its foreign energies on South Korea, which turned out to be a bad bet that resulted in the firm losing its $1.6 billion Inspire Entertainment Resort investment.  

Will a Sands or Wynn Bite?

Once seen as the greatest market opportunity since Macau welcomed in new gaming operators, enthusiasm for Japan remains subdued. Hokkaido entering the fray might not do much to move the needle.  

The world’s biggest casino companies, like Las Vegas Sands, Wynn Resorts, and Caesars Entertainment, are likely to remain on the sidelines unless a major metropolis like Tokyo or Yokohama opts in.  

All three companies remain quiet on Japan, with none issuing a public statement expressing interest in the expected 2027 bidding window.