Delays hit James Packer casino plans in Japan
Delays hit James Packer casino plans in Japan
James Packer's plans to get Crown into the Japanese market could be delayed as the country's parliament, the Diet, mulls the proposed liberalisation of gambling rules.
A senior official in the coalition government of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said a plan to open up the country's casino market to entrepreneurs like James Packer has been delayed again.
Keiichi Ishii, policy chief of Komeito, the junior partner in Abe's coalition government, told Reuters that the Japanese parliament was unlikely to have enough time to pass legislation through the Diet in the current Autumn session, which ends on November 30.
"The hurdle is quite high for both lower and upper houses to enact it," Mr Ishii told the news agency.
Mr Ishii said some members of the Komeito party also had concerns about the societal effects of gambling, according to Reuters.
The delay is a blow for Mr Abe, who wants the country to have a casino operating before Tokyo hosts the 2020 Olympic Games.
It is also a concern for Mr Packer's Melco Crown and other international casino operators like Las Vegas Sands, MGM Resorts and Genting, which have ambitions to build gambling and entertainment complexes in the country.
Melco Crown, which is the Hong Kong-listed joint venture held by Crown Resorts and Lawrence Ho, has said it will spend up to $US5 billion in Japan if it was to win the right to develop a casino.
Analysts have suggested if Japan legalised casinos a $US15 billion market could be created.
Mr Packer told Crown's annual general meeting last week that through the company's investment with Melco Crown "we will continue to explore the opportunities that may arise in Japan, should the country decide to develop integrated resorts to compete for tourists on the world stage".
Crown's executive vice-president, strategy and design, Todd Nisbet met Osaka governor Ichiro Matsui in July to discuss the prefectures plans for a casino.
Mr Packer travelled to Japan with Prime Minister Tony Abbott and other business leaders in April.
Support from Mr Ishii's Komeito party is seen as crucial for the bill since Abe's Liberal Democratic Party does not have a majority on its own in the Upper House, Reuters said.
Source : Sydney Morning Herald Tuesday, 21st October, 2014 Jessica Gardener
