{"id":121124,"date":"2019-11-29T15:24:48","date_gmt":"2019-11-29T23:24:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=121124"},"modified":"2019-11-29T15:52:58","modified_gmt":"2019-11-29T23:52:58","slug":"hokkaido-pulls-out-of-japanese-casino-race-citing-environmental-angst","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/hokkaido-pulls-out-of-japanese-casino-race-citing-environmental-angst\/","title":{"rendered":"Hokkaido Pulls Out of Japanese Casino Race, Citing Environmental Angst"},"content":{"rendered":"

Japan\u2019s Hokkaido prefecture has dropped out of the bid to secure one of the country\u2019s three casino licenses, citing environmental concerns.<\/p>\n

\"Hokkaido
An artist\u2019s rendering of Caesars’ vision for a Hokkaido casino in the city of Tomakomai \u2013 all now academic. (Image: Caesars Entertainment)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The news will be a blow to Connecticut casino operator Mohegan Sun, which last month showed its commitment<\/a> to partnering with the prefecture on a resort project by opening an office in the city of Tomakomai.-<\/p>\n

Caesars and Hard Rock were also courting the prefecture.<\/p>\n

Hokkaido\u2019s governor, Naomichi Suzuki, hoped to build an environmentally friendly casino in Tomakomai, close to New Chitose Airport. But he conceded Friday that the research necessary to pull off such a project would take too long and did not fit with the central government\u2019s timelines.<\/p>\n

Hokkaido is Japan\u2019s largest and most northerly prefecture, comprising the entirety of the country\u2019s second-largest main island.<\/p>\n

According to Kyodo News<\/em>, locals have expressed concerns<\/a> about the impact construction would have on the ecology of nearby Lake Utonai and the surrounding area, which is on a list of internationally protected wetlands.<\/p>\n

Local Opposition<\/strong><\/h2>\n

An environmental impact assessment of the project would take three years to complete, while the kind of sprawling multipurpose integrated resort the central government has in mind would take another four to five years to build.<\/p>\n

The Japanese government has said it will begin considering bids in 2021, which means the viability of the Hokkaido project could not be confirmed in time, which would pose an impediment to the prefecture\u2019s chances.<\/p>\n

Even if the government were prepared to cut the prefecture some slack, the project would be unlikely to be completed before 2028, which could equate to millions in lost tax revenues.<\/p>\n

\n

Meanwhile, a group of concerned Hokkaido citizens has submitted a petition against the casino that has been signed by 20,000 locals. The results of a poll published Monday showed that 66 percent of respondents said they had serious concerns about the project.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

“An integrated resort in Hokkaido which would coexist with nature has big potential. But I thought it would be impossible for us to give due consideration to the environment in the limited period of time before the government selects the locations,” Suzuki conceded Friday.<\/p>\n

Charm Offensive<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Regional and city governments are required to partner with one private casino operator via an open tender process before submitting a joint integrated proposal to central government.<\/p>\n

So far, eight municipal and regional governments have either committed to or expressed interest in submitting a bid, including Osaka, Yokohama, Tokyo, Wakayama, Prefecture and Nagasaki Prefecture.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re currently being courted by numerous international operators, all desperate to buy a piece of what could quickly become the second-biggest casino market in the world.<\/p>\n

The government is asking that prospective integrated resorts include a hotel larger than existing luxury hotels in Tokyo, a convention space capable of accommodating 3,000 people, and a casino floor that represents no more than three percent of the entire facility.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Japan\u2019s Hokkaido prefecture has dropped out of the bid to secure one of the country\u2019s three casino licenses, citing environmental concerns. The news will be a blow to Connecticut casino operator Mohegan Sun, which last month showed its commitment to partnering with the prefecture on a resort project by opening an office in the city […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":121126,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[69069,61],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHokkaido Pulls Out of Japanese Casino Race Citing Environmental Angst<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Hokkaido prefecture will no longer push for an integrated resort in Tomakomai, as an environmental impact study will not gel with Japan casino timelines.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hokkaido Pulls Out of Japanese Casino Race Citing Environmental Angst\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Hokkaido prefecture will no longer push for an integrated resort in Tomakomai, as an environmental impact study will not gel with Japan casino timelines.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/hokkaido-pulls-out-of-japanese-casino-race-citing-environmental-angst\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-11-29T23:24:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-11-29T23:52:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/hokkaido.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1329\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"895\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgphilc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/hokkaido-pulls-out-of-japanese-casino-race-citing-environmental-angst\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/hokkaido-pulls-out-of-japanese-casino-race-citing-environmental-angst\/\",\"name\":\"Hokkaido Pulls Out of Japanese Casino Race Citing Environmental Angst\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/hokkaido-pulls-out-of-japanese-casino-race-citing-environmental-angst\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/hokkaido-pulls-out-of-japanese-casino-race-citing-environmental-angst\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/hokkaido.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-11-29T23:24:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-11-29T23:52:58+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b\"},\"description\":\"Hokkaido prefecture will no longer push for an integrated resort in Tomakomai, as an environmental impact study will not gel with Japan casino timelines.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/hokkaido-pulls-out-of-japanese-casino-race-citing-environmental-angst\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/hokkaido-pulls-out-of-japanese-casino-race-citing-environmental-angst\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/hokkaido-pulls-out-of-japanese-casino-race-citing-environmental-angst\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/hokkaido.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/hokkaido.jpg\",\"width\":1329,\"height\":895,\"caption\":\"An artist\u2019s rendering of Caesars vision for a Hokkaido casino in the city of Tomakomai \u2013 all now academic. 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