Gambling giant Las Vegas Sands announced that the operator considers entering the recently-regulated Japanese casino market. Earlier this year, Chairman Sheldon Adelson stated that the company is ready to invest as much as $10-billion in the future casino venture. The Japanese fresh casino market has opened a great potential for development and profitability and many big operators, including Las Vegas Sands has entered Japan casino license bidding war. To make its offer even more enticing, Las Vegas Sands had a card up its sleeve. At a press conference in Tokyo, which took place earlier today, the gambling operator relied on popular music figures and top sportsmen such as the former England’s soccer player David Beckham to enchant Japanese officials with sweet promises of super modern integrated resorts, and new concert and sports venues.
The fresh Japanese market proved to be one of the most enticing ones. Being on the brink of awarding casino licenses, all the rivals are trying to up their chances in the competition. Las Vegas Sands makes no exception. At the recently-conducted press conference in Tokyo, the gambling operator counted on some of the most popular sports and public figures to present its ideas. Las Vegas Sands Corp. President and COO Robert Goldstein’s speech gave a start to the conference. He expressed his compassion to the Japanese nation, which became a witness to a tragic event only a few days ago.
The press conference continued with David Beckham and other beloved figures. To cheer up the atmosphere as much as possible, the top sportsman expressed his love to specifically Japanese cuisine. The operator’s strategy included also the participation of the music mogul Irving Azoff and some popular music groups such as The Eagles and Fleetwood Mac. The operator also announced that apart from the casino resort, it plans to establish first-class concert and sports venues, aiming to give a strong boost to the country’s tourism sector and leisure industry. The current owner of Staples Center and former CEO of Alderac Entertainment Group Tim Leiweke said that to attract popular sports teams such as NBA and NHL, the country needs to renovate its Seattle’s KeyArena, which perfectly fits Sands’ vision.
Japan’s Gambling Market at Present
Japan went through many hurdles until it finally made the first step to regulate its gambling market. In December 2016, the lawmakers passed the so-called Promotional Integrated Resorts Bill, which allows the provision of casino games throughout the country. The next stage is to pass the Implementation Bill, introducing the regulations, which the operators need to comply with. The regulation of the casino industry gave rise to certain concerns regarding the side effects of gambling and its addictive nature. Currently, the lawmakers are still working on the second bill, which is the last stage of the long and clumsy process. At present, it is known that the number of the integrated casino resorts will be limited, which explains why the competition between the casino operators to debut on the Japanese market is so fierce.
