Regional casinos are unlikely to happen in Japan, according to Seth Sulkin, head of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan.
The new gaming regulations, he said, would make regional casinos unlikely. The regional cities would not get licenses as the minimum cost of building a successful property with the proposed size restrictions on gaming floors, would be US$4-5bn.
Asia Gaming Brief reports that this kind of cost would deter the major casino operators, they have told Sulkin, mainly because the casino floor would only be 3% of the property. Tokyo and Osaka would figure in the initial licenses, but after that, the rules would have to be changed to make regional casinos viable.
