Nagasaki Gets Three More Entries for RFP and IR Bids

Ahead of its Request for Proposal (RFP) due to begin January 7, Nagasaki has received three more anonymous bids for the completion of an integrated resort (IR) project in the prefecture.

Nagasaki Receives Three More Entries ahead of RFP Process

As Japan’s national government pushes towards a legalized framework for its upcoming integrated resorts (IR), the prefecture of Nagasaki sees increased interest in developing the project on its territory. Nagasaki has been actively looking to attract more attention in its upcoming IR bid.

Three new entries have been recorded in the prefecture’s Request for Proposal (RFP) process which now includes bids from seven companies. The new entrants’ identifies have not been disclosed publicly. This comes on top of the already submitted four bids by Casinos Austria, Pixel Companyz, Oshidori International Holdings, and another consortium.

Even though the Covid-19 pandemic has suggested that most overseas investors will give up on the idea of an integrated resort, renewed interest in the sector has been strong. Pixel Companyz has previously joined with Groupe Patrouche as part of a consortium reuniting Get Nice Holdings and Current Corp.

According to sources, two of the new bidders are based in the United States and the third one hails from Asia. This leaves a lot of room for speculation as Nagasaki is definitely one of the prime venues where an integrated resort is expected to arrive, if not immediately in 2024, then at some point in this decade.

Big Entries Expected to Be Revealed

The country is planning on building a total of three such resorts. One suggestion is that Hard Rock International, Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment and Rush Street may be among the bidders after Hokkaido’s bid failed in 2019.

The prefecture, that is Hokkaido, withdrew from the IR race leaving the three companies in limbo. They have not yet made an offer to another prefecture, but this may have changed given the renewed interest in Nagasaki.

For its part, Nagasaki is one of four prefectures currently bidding for IR development permission. Other jurisdictions include Nagasaki, Wakayama and Yokohama.

Nagasaki is launching its RFP process tomorrow, January 7 and the process will continue through April 2022. In September, Nagasaki reported that it expects the national government to delay its IR policy by at least six to 12 months.