Waiver announced and confirmation document signed

The operator behind Osaka's planned integrated resort, Osaka IR, gave up its right to withdraw from the project without paying a penalty, it announced on September 10, 2024. The same day it exchanged a confirmation document with Osaka Prefecture and Osaka City¹.

The withdrawal right, known in Japanese as a "解除権" (kaijoken), had been written into the implementation agreement the operator signed with Osaka Prefecture in September 2023. Under that agreement, Osaka IR could cancel the resort plan until September 2026 unless all seven conditions were met, including that the initial investment of 1 trillion 270 billion yen did not grow and that domestic and international tourism demand had recovered to pre-COVID levels¹. The operator judged the conditions satisfied and gave up the right ahead of the deadline, dated September 6, 2024¹.

Osaka IR holds a 35-year lease contract for the land on the north side of Yumeshima¹. Ground liquefaction countermeasure work has been under way at the site since December 2023¹.

The operator is Osaka IR, based in Osaka City, with investment from the Japanese arm of US-based MGM Resorts International and Orix, among others¹. The resort is scheduled for completion around summer 2030 and aims to open around autumn 2030¹. It is to include an international conference hall, exhibition space, hotels, restaurants, a shopping mall, entertainment facilities and a casino¹.

What it means for players

Japan has no legal casino resort open yet, so the waiver changes nothing about where gambling can take place today. What it does is remove the operator's option to walk away without a penalty, which had been the main route by which the project could have been canceled before September 2026. For anyone planning around a future Osaka casino, the timeline in the reporting is a completion around summer 2030 and an opening around autumn 2030¹. The rules on who may enter, what games will be offered and how residents of Japan will be treated are not set out in this reporting and have not been reported here. General entry and play rules for the region's integrated resorts are covered in our guide to casinos and integrated resorts in Asia, and the current legal position in the country is set out in Can I gamble in Japan?.

What happens next

Construction at the Yumeshima site continues, with liquefaction countermeasure work under way since December 2023¹. The resort is due for completion around summer 2030, ahead of an opening targeted for around autumn 2030¹.