Wire ASIA & OCEANIA
Prefecture Approval for Wakayama Casino
A special prefectural committee has given approval for Clairvest and Caesar’s Integrated Resort project in Wakayama, Japan.
Te Wakayama Prefectural Government hopes to open the integrated resort by 2026.
JAPAN LAND-BASED
NORTH MARIANA ISLANDS – The decision to suspend Imperial Pacific International’s casino licence in Saipan by the Commonwealth Casino Commission has been upheld by the Superior Court of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
Imperial failed to pay to pay its annual license fee, due to the effects of COVID-19 closures, which it wanted to be classified as a natural disaster. Imperial Palace has been shuttered since March 17, 2020.
Judge Bogdan said: “The suspension is not arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, not in accordance with the law, as the CCC did not consider, determine or reasonably base that order upon the appropriate application of principles of force majeure under Commonwealth law.”
“Ultimately, the Casino Commission’s decision with respect to these violations is not connected to the force majeure defense raised before the Casino Commission,” he added.
“This conclusion finds support, aside from non- payment of the Community Benefit Fund and Annual License Fee payments, as there were equally critical determinations made on the record concerning [Imperial’s] viability as an on-going business and the very real question of whether the unfinished gambling facility in Garapan will ever be completed,” concluded Judge Bogdan.
The casino commission is likely to revoke Imperial’s operating licence by April.
NEW ZEALAND – New Zealand’s Department of Internal Affairs will conduct a government review to reduce harm problem gambling after a report confirmed that New Zealanders spent NZ$2.63bn (US$1.81bn) on the four main types of gambling in the 2020/21.
Gambling spend was up 17 per cent in 2021 compared to 2020, with spending on slots located outside of casinos up 23 per cent to NZ$987m, marking its highest level in half a decade.
Andree Froude, a spokesman for the Problem Gambling Foundation, said: “It certainly shows that Kiwis returned to gambling after the lockdown restrictions ended, spending the equivalent of NZ$730 for every adult in the country. Over 60 per cent of pokie venues are situated in medium-high to very high deprivation areas so the money being lost is from people who can least afford to lose it.”
He said Class 4 pokies are the most harmful form of gambling with nearly 50 per cent of people seeking help for gambling citing pokies in pubs, clubs and TABs as their main form of gambling.
P30 WIRE / PULSE / INSIGHT / REPORTS
A special prefectural committee has given its approval to the Wakayama Prefectural Government for Clairvest and Caesars Entertainment’s plans for a Wakayama Marina City-based world-class integrated resort (IR) in Japan.
Te plan is to build an IR at Wakayama Marina City, covering 569,000sq.m with the gaming floor taking up 38,000sq.m. Tere will be 2,700 hotel rooms, an international exhibition hall and conference hall and a focus on nature with a theme of ‘a land of wood and a land of water.’
Te proposal still needs to get a plenary vote at the Wakayama Prefectural Assembly.
Clairvest has confirmed it has received letters of interest from nine potential investors and four financial services firms.
Caesars joined the project’s consortium back in September. Te combination aligns Clairevest, an experienced IR development and management team, with Caesars Entertainment, one of the gaming industry’s
Osaka concludes agreement with MGM, Orix on IR plan
Japan
Te governments of Japan’s Osaka prefecture and Osaka city have reached a ‘Basic Agreement’ on an integrated resort (IR) with US-based casino group MGM Resorts International and its Japanese partner Orix Corp.
In February, Osaka city voted against a proposal to allow a local referendum on a planned integrated- resort casino. Afterwhich the city and prefecture governments reached an agreement for a consortium led by MGM Resorts and Orix to build a multi-billion dollar resort in Japan’s third largest city.
Te Basic Agreement includes a pledge by the casino group and its local partner to spend JPY20.25bn (US$175m) on an extension of the Osaka
best-known casino operator brands. Te Clairvest team is comprised of a complement of IR industry professionals and operators, including; Mario Ho an esports and entertainment entrepreneur, director of CNV and Chairman and Co-CEO of NIP Group, a multinational esports organisation; Clairvest Group, a Canadian private equity firm with experience in 30 different land-based gaming and entertainment resorts in Canada, the US and Chile; and William Weidner, former President and Chief Operating Officer of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS).
Bradley Stone, former president of global operations and construction at LVS and Garry Saunders, former COO of Melco Resorts & Entertainment and VP of international operations for LVS also join the Clairevest team of industry professionals.
Te Wakayama Prefectural Government hopes to open the integrated resort by 2026. Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida recently repeated his belief that introducing casinos would boost tourism.
subway system to link it to Yumeshima, the artificial island in Osaka Bay, where the casino resort would be located. Te agreement on such a venue includes outlining the responsibilities of the parties involved, for submitting the Osaka IR District Development Plan – the local plan for an integrated resort – to the national government.
April 28 is the deadline for local governments to make a submission to the national authorities on a tilt for an integrated resort or IR, as large-scale casino complexes with tourism facilities, are known in Japan. Up to three such facilities will be permitted across the country, under the liberalisation plan. Te other contenders are Wakayama and Nagasaki. Should Osaka’s scheme be submitted and selected, the prefecture and city would then make an implementation agreement with MGM Resorts and Orix.
Singapore
Te Singapore Tourism Board has confirmed that 124,760 people arrived in the country between January and February, marking a 204 per cent increase from 2020, following a gradual easing of border controls from 30 countries. Keith Tan, CEO of the Tourism Board, said the country had seen 67,760 international visitors arrive in January and 57,000 in February. Mr. Tan said: “Tese figures show there is healthy demand for short-term visits to Singapore. Travel recovery will be gradual this year, but we are cautiously optimistic as there is strong pent-up demand for travel to Singapore, even from longer-haul markets.” Hotel Association President Kwee Wei-Lin said visitation had been strong from the US, Europe and Australia. She said: “We see a greater rebound for business travel. Based on current safe management measures, it is more favorable for visitors who must be in Singapore for business meetings.”
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