Wakayama Casino Unveiling in 2026? ASIA & OCEANIA


Suncity Group and Clairvest have been told their Wakayama IR would need to generate 'significant economic and employment effects’ to be green lit


Suncity has said it would spend between HK$30bn and HK$35bn (US$3.8bn to US$4.5bn) on an Integrated Resort in Wakayama, in the Kansai region


JAPAN LICENSING


AUSTRALIA – INTRALOT subsidiary INTRALOT Australia, has signed an extension of its contract with current client Lotterywest, the State Lottery in Western Australia from January 2022 till January 2026 through annual extensions. INTRALOT Australia will continue to provide its lottery operating system and services for the operation.


The extension of the partnership is an endorsement of INTRALOT Australia’s successful implementation of its LOTOS open architecture platform and advanced retail terminals that drive player engagement. For the last 13 years, INTRALOT Australia enables Lotterywest to establish a responsible gaming environment and fulfill its purpose in contributing to good causes for the Western Australians’ community.


Marios Mitromaras, INTRALOT Australia CEO, stated: “We are proud to extend our strong and solid collaboration with Lotterywest, an esteemed Lottery Operator with extreme contribution to the West Australian society.”


MALAYSIA – Analytical company Maybank Research has slashed its Earnings Per Share (EPS) prediction for Resorts World Genting in Malaysia by 58 per cent in 2021 on the belief that footfall will be affected by a new Movement Control Order (MCO) which will restrict six Malaysian states. Whilst only lasting two weeks from January 13 to 26, it covered six states; Penang, Selangor, Federal Territories, Johor, Melaka and Sabah.


Maybank Analyst Samuel Yin Shao Yang said: “The previous MCO that required RWG to shut operations was implemented on 18 March 2020 and was scheduled to last two weeks. RWG only reopened three months later on 19 Jun 2020. As the number of new COVID-19 cases in Malaysia are a lot higher currently, we gather that the MCO in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur will last for a similar three months at least. This may cause RWG to forego the Chinese New Year peak season and raise doubts if Genting Skyworlds will open in the latter half of 2021.”


CHINA – MGM Resorts has signalled its ‘commitment’ to Macau following a request from its biggest shareholder to sell 20 per cent of MGM China’s shares, but has stated it has no intention of selling shares to meet demands to diversify.


MGM stated: “The board of directors of the company is aware of an open letter issued by Snow Lake Capital, an institutional investor and a shareholder of the company, to the board of directors of MGM Resorts International, the company’s controlling shareholder, on 6 January 2021, making recommendations on the shareholding structure and future development of the company,” it said.


P20 NEWSWIRE / INTERACTIVE / MARKET DATA


Asian junket investor Suncity Group and Canada-based Clairvest, the only two companies that have lodged proposals to develop a casino in Wakayama, located east of Osaka, have been told their proposed Integrated Resort project would need to generate 'significant economic and employment effects' and 'attract customers from within Japan in order to further the development of the prefecture.'


It will make a decision on the chosen operator/developer in the spring and will apply for regional certification by April next year, with the aim of unveiling an IR property in 2026.


Wakayama wants to develop a casino on the artificial island of Marina City in Kemi, Wakayama City, with the operating licence lasting for 40 years. Te project’s focus must be on sports and well being, taking advantage of the waterfront location, hot springs, food culture and other local resources. It should offer exhibition and conference facilities with at least 100,000sq.m of hotels and a casino making up no more than three per cent of the project's footprint.


SIS and RMG agree multi-year streaming and marketing deal


Australia


Australian TV audiences will be seeing more of Frankie Dettori and other British and Irish stars. Racecourse Media Group (RMG), in partnership with Sports Information Services (SIS), has agreed a multi-year streaming and marketing content deal with Sportsbet, Australia’s largest online betting operator and part of the Flutter Group. Tis agreement formalises an arrangement between the parties for Sportsbet to broadcast and take bets on British and Irish racing.


RMG is owned by 34 British racecourses, while SIS holds the rights to all 26 Irish racecourses and Chelmsford City. Te deal will see British and Irish thoroughbred racing – which is shown on Tabcorp’s


Suncity has said it would spend between HK$30bn and HK$35bn (US$3.8bn to US$4.5bn) on an Integrated Resort in its Wakayama, in the Kansai region, on Honshū island’s Kii


Suncity CEO Alvin Chau said the vision was for a ‘unique project combining Wakayama Prefecture’s historical tradition, natural landscape and cultural essence.’


Te Office had previously said that over 20 international IR operators from North America, Europe and Asia had expressed their interest with an IR forum which attracted interest from operating groups including Solaire, Lucien Barriere, Mohegan Gaming, Bloomberry Resorts and Galaxy Entertainment.


Te government wants its IR to have a 2,500 room hotel with a convention centre and exhibition hall. Marina City is about a 40 minutes drive from Kansai International Airport and a 70 minute drive from Osaka. Its infrastructure is already well developed with many hotels and an amusement park based on medieval European townscapes.


(TAB) SKY Racing network in the TAB app, in venues and homes throughout Australia – also to be shown on the Sportsbet digital platforms.


RMG’s Commercial Director, Nick Mills, said: “We are delighted to team up with Sportsbet and grateful to our long-standing partners, Tabcorp, for helping to facilitate the partnership through broader distribution of its SKY Racing channel. Tis is a very exciting opportunity to increase the shop window for our racecourses, as well as generate additional international revenue.”


SIS’s Commercial Director, Paul Witten, said: “UK and Irish horseracing content is an important contributor to Flutter's revenues in jurisdictions around the world, and we are delighted to now be able to bring live pictures and additional content to Sportsbet’s Australian customers.”


China - Macau


According to Morgan Stanley, Macau’s six concessionaires are likely to have their licences renewed for a further three years by the SAR Government, abandoning initial plans to hold an open tender due to time restrictions caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Analysts Praveen Choudhary, Gareth Leung and Tomas Allen made the prediction, saying: “Macau has to run a public consultation, and then put the new law in the Legislative Assembly (the draft is not ready yet), which could take more than a year. We do not expect this to happen in 2021/22 due to the time crunch. Similar to March 2019 (a year before SJM/MGM’s licenses expired), we expect this decision to be taken by June 2021 – a year before the expiry date in June 2022.” SJM and MGM paid US$25m for their two-year extension in March 2019. Morgan Stanley believes a similar fee will be charged this time around.


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