KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 23): Genting Bhd's subsidiary Genting Singapore Ltd is said to be among a narrowed list of three potential bidders for the planned development of an integrated casino resort in the Japanese city of Osaka, Casino News Daily reported today.

Casino News Daily, quoting Japanese media reports, said Genting Singapore, MGM Resorts International and Galaxy Entertainment Group have submitted request for concept proposals for the development of the resort, with a dedicated casino space.

"Japan legalised casino gambling in 2016 and authorized the construction of up to three integrated resorts with gaming floors to create a market, some analysts believe could annually see US$20 billion in gaming revenue.

"Osaka has long been considered the front-runner in the casino race due to the large number of international visitors the city welcomes every year, as well as the strong local political support the potential development of a gaming resort has seen," Casino News Daily reported.

Casino News Daily reported analysts also believe that Yokohama, Nagasaki, Wakayama and Tokyo could be selected as hosts to the country’s first three integrated resorts.

"Yokohama recently joined officially, the casino race, with the city’s Mayor, Fumiko Hayashi, saying that they need an integrated resort in order to achieve growth and development.

"Up until recently, Osaka was favoured by a number of major international developers in their plans to build a resort and tap into Japan’s nascent casino market. However, that changed quickly with Yokohama’s announcement that it would look to host one of the three gaming complexes. Yokohama is Japan’s second largest city, a major port that sits just south of Tokyo," Casino News Daily said.

At the time of writing, Genting Bhd and Genting Singapore had not made bourse filings to confirm latest news reports on Genting Singapore having submitted a request for concept proposal for the Osaka integrated casino resort.
 
At Bursa Malaysia today, Genting Bhd's share price rose 13 sen or 2.24% at 4:21pm to RM5.93, among the exchange's top gainers. Genting Bhd saw 4.71 million shares traded.