Only Three Casino Operators Express Interest In Yokohama Gaming License

The request-for-proposal (RFP) process for Yokohama’s gaming license came to an end on May 17. Only three casino operators sent in their RFP’s during the stipulated time period which comes as little bit of a surprise as some gaming analysts expected Yokohama to get a much better response.

Japan will issue only three casino licenses and these integrated resort (IR) casinos will be based in three prefectures. Tokyo, Osaka and Yokohama are most likely to win the bids for these casinos but nothing has been officially confirmed so far. Each prefecture will have to make a presentation to the Japanese government outlining what they bring to the table and why they should be eligible to host an IR.

This is why each prefecture is keen on attracting the biggest and most popular casino operators in the world so that they will invest billions of dollars to develop a mega casino resort, create thousands of jobs, boost tourism numbers and generate millions of dollars in gaming taxes.

Who Are The Three Casino Operators?

The three casino operators that have successfully submitted their RFPs within the stipulate deadline include Japan’s Sega Sammy Holdings Inc, Genting Singapore Ltd and Melco Resorts and Entertainment Ltd.

A special team will now go through these RFP drafts during the next couple of weeks and will have a window open from June 1 to June 11, for these three casino operators to submit their final RFPs. Once this is done, the team will then complete a final review and look to shortlist the operator that they think are best suited to develop a casino resort in Yokohama. A decision on who the final application is will be made before the end of this summer.

Sega Sammy Holdings Inc. has made it clear that it intends to be a minority stakeholder in this casino project and it will partner with an overseas casino operator who will be the majority stakeholder. There is no indication as of now as to which casino operator Sega Sammy Holdings intends to partner with.

Operators That Dropped Out

There were market rumours earlier in the year that Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd and the Shotoku Corp from Japan would also submit RFPs for the Yokohama project. However, Galaxy Entertainment decided to drop out and state that the current COVID-19 epidemic did not make conditions favorite at this time for it to move forward with its RFP.

There is no news whether Shotoku Corp has sent in an RFP as of now.