Japan Casino’s Dynamic ‘Strong’ Candidate: Analyst

Japan’s Pachinko Hall management company Dynamite Japan Holdings Inc. is the top candidate for casino licensing in Japan if casinos are legalized in Japan, says stock research firm Advanced Research Japan Inc.

The company has a “close relationship” with Macau-based casino services company Macau Legend Development Co., Ltd. and has an investment stake, analyst Daigo Fukunaga said in a report released on July 8. “This is a strong advantage over other candidate operators, and we believe the company is likely to be licensed,” he said.

However, Mr. Fukugana warned, “There are many variable factors that are still in flux at the moment.”

Macao Legends, managed by businessman David Chow Campai, operates the Babylon Casino and Pharaoh Palace Casino at the landmark Macau Hotel under the license of SJM Holdings Limited. The company is building three new hotels and more entertainment facilities on the Macau Fishery Wharf site located on the waterfront of the Macau Peninsula. The renovation, which includes two new casinos, will cost about HK$6 billion ($774 million), the company said.

Dynamic and Macau Legends, listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, signed a memorandum of understanding last year for the Japanese company to install the “next Pachinko machine” in Macau. These consist of video game monitors, and unlike most standard Japanese Pachinko machines, there are no actual balls or pins. The games will be aimed at the mass market.

Fukunaga said in an advanced research report that casinos are very likely to be legalized in Japan. Referring to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s position, he wrote, “As Abe’s government has established tourism as an important growth strategy, concerns that the proposed casino law will not be passed are unlikely to be unnecessary.”

Regarding the enactment of the law, the analyst added that there is a consensus that it is likely to take place in the extraordinary session of the National Assembly as early as fall and the next regular session at the latest in early 2015.

The legalization of casinos in Japan will be two legal procedures. After the revitalization bill to legalize casino resorts at the conceptual level, the second bill will detail the specifics, including how they are managed and regulated.

Japan’s House of Representatives Cabinet Committee began discussing the bill last month. However, the Japanese parliament is now adjourned. 슬롯머신

According to media reports, there are at least six prefectural governments competing to host casino complexes: Osaka, Tokyo, Hokkaido, Nagasaki, Miyazaki and Okinawa.

Dynamic posted a 1.9% increase in profit to 21.3 billion yen ($210 million) for the year ended March 31. The company operated 375 pachinko halls in Japan by the end of March, 13 more than a year ago. Dynamic plans to have 1,000 pachinko holes by March 2023.