Parliament could pass gaming bill in May

G2E Japan could be held in same month as G2E Asia

2014-01-15
Reading time 1:56 min
(Japan).- A new event called G2E Japan could be held in same month as G2E Asia, which takes place in Macau. This follows an announcement by the Washington D.C.-based casino industry lobby group the American Gaming Association and partner Reed Exhibitions that they aim to hold a new event - ‘G2E Japan’ – once the country’s parliament passes a bill to legalise casino resorts, which could happen in May.

This means that there is the prospect this spring of three major casino conferences in East Asia in the space of a single month.

The official website for the pair’s Global Gaming Expo-branded events said they had “partnered with Union Gaming to bring a one-of-a-kind symposium to Japan as early as practical following passage of the legislation”.

That was a reference to Las Vegas-based casino industry research house and financial advisor Union Gaming Group, founded by several former Deutsche Bank executives.

In December, Reed’s market competitor Clarion Events said it planned to hold a gaming conference in Japan in Tokyo on May 14, 15 and 16 – the week before Reed’s own G2E Asia regional casino industry event held annually in Macau. Clarion said Michael Leven, president and chief operating officer of Las Vegas Sands Corp, would be its main speaker.

Union Gaming is understood to be the first Western company to have organised a major finance industry conference on the prospects for casino resorts in Japan.

The Union Gaming Development Conference – Japan 2013 – took place in September only days after Tokyo’s successful bid to host the 2020 summer Olympics. It attracted significant media interest.

Industry speakers included George Tanasijevich, chief executive Las Vegas Sands Corp’s Marina Bay Sands property in Singapore; Bill Hornbuckle, president of MGM Resorts International and also a director of its majority-owned Macau casino venture MGM China Holdings Ltd; and Gamal Aziz, president and chief operating officer of Wynn Resorts Development. This week it was announced Mr Aziz would be moving to Macau in a new role as president of Wynn Macau.

All the Macau casino concessionaires and sub-concessionaires have expressed an individual interest in building a casino resort in Japan.

“Our September conference generated a significant amount of interest on the part of Japanese companies and legislators and other industry watchers,” Grant Govertsen, managing partner at Union Gaming Research Macau, told Business Daily yesterday.

“I believe it also caught the attention of the big expo groups like Reed and the AGA, and after discussions we agreed to move forward with the concept of G2E Japan with them, with Union Gaming responsible for the investment/financial elements,” said Mr Govertsen.

“That means we would be responsible for any kind of investment related forums, much like the investment forums at G2E in the [United] States, which are probably the biggest two days of gaming-related conferences in North America on an annual basis,” he added.

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