Casino Tycoons Swarm Japan

Admitting that the territory of Macau is too small to accommodate more gaming resorts, Ho aims to expand overseas. With Japan’s likely legalization of casino gambling in the near future, he is already making his move. Ho was in Tokyo late last month and told Bloomberg News that the governments of both Macau and China want to control growth in the territory, now the most profitable gambling town in the world.

“Tthe potential is huge,” Ho said. “If Japan opens up and allows integrated resorts in Tokyo and Osaka, the market could easily be in excess of $10 billion to $15 billion.”

Other casino operators have already shown interest in the world’s third-biggest economy after Tokyo’s successful bid for the 2020 Olympics made them confident that Japan’s government would soon lift the ban on casino gambling.

Ho has been in the thick of it, lobbying cabinet members in the Japanese government on his own.

And Japan isn’t the only market that Ho and his partner in Melco, Australian billionaire James Packer, have their eye on. He also wants to build casinos in the Philippines and Russia.

For the former, he is teaming up with Manila-based Belle Corp. to develop a casino resort in the Philippine capital.