Wynn Resorts Chairman Steve Wynn recently did an interview with Nikkei Asian Review and shared his views on the newly opened casino market in Japan and also opened up about the company’s performance in Macau – the biggest gambling hub in the world.
Regulations Will Determine Success Or Failure 
Japan lifted the ban on casino gambling in December 2016 and since then legislators have been in a process of putting together an Integrated Resort Implementation Bill that will outline the rules and regulations that will govern Japan’s casino industry. There have been rumors that Japanese regulators were going to model their regulations on the Singapore gaming model and that has caused some concern amongst international casino operators. The new IR bill will also outline the locations for the proposed casinos; confirm the gaming taxes that will be imposed and also the number of gaming licenses that will be issued in the first round.
Market analysts believe that Japan could significantly hinder its market growth if it imposes too many rules and limitations as that might throw off international casino operators and lower their investment budgets. Steve Wynn also adopted a similar view stating that it will be the proposed rules and regulations that will determine the success or failure of the casino industry in Japan.
In a statement, Wynn said “The government is always a partner in this business. In designing the regulations and the law, the government can make it possible for great success in the building and the management and the marketing of such a business; or they can make it difficult. Regulations, tax rates and all such things – affecting [construction], the location of the building and the operation of the business – all have profound impact on the result.”
Wynn Resorts currently has operations in Las Vegas and Macau. The company is currently in the process of developing the $2.4 billion Wynn Boston Harbor casino in Massachusetts. The 75 year old billionaire is very keen to launch operations in Japan and said that Wynn Resorts was interested in Osaka, Yokohama and Tokyo as these three cities had high quality human resources and good supplies that would help Wynn Resorts establish an IR.
The Komeito opposition party was initially not happy with the proposal to develop IR’s in Japan but last week the ruling Liberal Democratic Party announced that it had managed to work out a deal with Komeito and remained confident that the IR implementation bill would be approved in autumn by the Parliament.
Wynn Happy To See Macau VIP Gaming Recover
Macau’s casino industry witnessed a slump in gross gaming revenue from early 2014 due to the launch of an anti-corruption crackdown by Beijing. Macau’s VIP gaming market which contributed more than 50 percent to gross gaming revenue collapsed and all the six major casino operators in Macau were negatively impacted.
The market started to recover in August 2016, after 26 consecutive months of decline in gross gaming revenue. The change in fortunes started in August 2016 which was when Wynn Resorts decided to open its $4.4 billion Wynn Palace casino resort in the Cotai district.
Wynn had earlier criticized Macau’s regulators over their sudden decision to crackdown on the gambling industries and impose strict regulations on casino operators which hurt their bottom line. Steve Wynn stated that while his company did take a hit in Macau, things have changed in the last 12 months and Wynn Macau was once again doing well.
Wynn confirmed that the VIP market had recovered and things have been good at Wynn Macau Ltd. He said that the Macau Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau had done a good job in tightening regulations on junket operators as it helped to weed out operators who were not qualified. Junket operators are responsible for bringing over VIP players from Mainland China, offering them lines of credit and throwing in lucrative bonuses for spending huge sums of money at Macau’s casinos.
Wynn said the new regulations removed junket operators who had financial issues and also those who had ties to associates who were suspected of illegal activities. Wynn Macau Ltd will see its gaming licenses expire in 2022 and will most likely end up applying for a  license renewal in the near future.