In Japan and the government for Nagasaki Prefecture has reportedly announced that it still remains intent on launching the request for proposal (RFP) stage of its plan to secure one of the nation’s coming trio of integrated casino resort licenses ‘this spring.’

According to reports from GGRAsia and Inside Asian Gaming, the revelation means that the jurisdiction of some 1.3 million people has not altered its original schedule despite the recent appearance of the coronavirus pandemic and a subsequent decision by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to place seven affected communities into month-long emergency lockdowns.

Confined club:

Although Nagasaki Prefecture has not reportedly been included in this coronavirus-related list, which encompasses the Japanese cities of Tokyo, Chiba, Osaka, Saitama, Fukuoka, Kanagawa and Hyogo, the decision will nevertheless make it increasingly more difficult for its officials to move around the country and hold meetings with interested operating partners.

Preferred proposition:

GGRAsia reported that the southern Kyushu community is eventually hoping to be given official permission to bring a Las Vegas-style gambling venue to a 74-acre site adjacent to its Huis Ten Bosch theme park near the small city of Sasebo. It purportedly launched the initial request for concept (RFC) phase of its plan in September and now anticipates moving onto the more formal RFP stage before the start of the summer.

Financial forecast:

In preparation and Nagasaki Prefecture reportedly released an updated version of its basic concept plan on Monday to more clearly lay out exactly what it would expect any prospective foreign casino operating partner to bring to the proposed gambling-friendly project. This 73-page document purportedly pronounced that such a development could produce an ‘economic ripple effect’ for the entire area worth up to $3.85 billion and lead to full-time employment for as many as 360,000 locals.

It was further reported that the revised treatise from Nagasaki Prefecture moreover detailed that the planned integrated casino resort could open as soon as 2025 with its estimated 840,000 interim construction jobs due to bring in at least $5.61 billion in one-off construction-related benefits.

For its part and Inside Asian Gaming reported that the reworked proposal furthermore estimated that it would cost between $3.21 billion to $4.22 billion to build the envisioned integrated casino resort for Nagasaki Prefecture with subsequent annual visitor numbers topping out at 9.3 million.

Ambitious aim:

Nagasaki Prefecture is reportedly hoping to have finished the RFP stage of its integrated casino resort plan and arrived at a preferred foreign operating partner before the end of the year. From here and the jurisdiction will purportedly be required to lodge its completed bid with a panel of federal selectors in advance of a final July 30, 2021, deadline.

Compound candidates:

However, the jurisdiction is reportedly facing stiff competition for one of the three ten-year integrated casino resort licenses from a number of other Japanese communities including the likes of Osaka, Tokyo and Yokohama. Nevertheless, its plan is purportedly said to have already attracted initial interest from four potential operating partners including European giant Casinos Austria International.