The government disapproves Nagasaki casino plan – pointing out lack of experience and capital of operators

On December 27, 2023, the Japan Tourism Agency (JTA) announced that the application for approval of the Huis Ten Bosch IR project (integrated resort plan including a casino) proposed by Nagasaki Prefecture and KYUSHU Resorts Japan was not approved after a review by the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism after a review by the review committee.

The IR plan for Nagasaki Prefecture and Sasebo City was submitted to the national government in April 2022 as an important project for tourism and economic growth in Nagasaki. However, it was determined that there was a lack of stability in the financing of the operators, the effectiveness of the exploitation of casino revenues, as well as the ability to eliminate harmful effects. In particular, the lack of experienced and well-capitalized investors was a problem.

In response, the Nagasaki Prefectural IR Promotion Division and the Mayor of Sasebo expressed deep regret over the results of the examination and expressed their intention to request further explanations from the government.

With the enactment of the casino bill in 2018, a number of local governments have conceived IR plans for candidate sites that have been set at a maximum of three locations in Japan. Among them, Osaka City in Osaka Prefecture and Sasebo City in Nagasaki Prefecture were considered to be the leading candidates, while the others were withdrawn or did not make progress. This time, the government rejected the Nagasaki plan, which means that only the Osaka plan, which has been criticized for its current situation, has been approved by the government.