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The prospect of international operators snapping up Japan’s coveted IR licences gradually lost its lustre, as the likes of Wynn Resorts, Las Vegas Sands, Genting Singapore and Caesars Entertainment balked at the demanding regulatory framework, hefty investment requirements and uncertain returns.

Although the late LVS chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson hailed the Japanese market as “a holy grail” and the “ultimate of business opportunities”, the company dropped out of the game, scrapping its pledged $10 billion project.

Japan has drawn on Singapore’s IR development model, which embodies a balancing act between ambitious economic visions and restrictive conditions. But Andrew Klebanow, principal of Klebanow Consulting, believes Japan’s IR regulations swerved “too far into crafting regulations and policies”. Klebanow specialises in hotel-casino market feasibility studies, strategic planning and facility planning recommendations.

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Angelozzi was asked about previous cross-border M&A that had failed to deliver on initial expectations and why he felt this time was different.

He said Cirsa wass already a well-managed company and in previous deals, it had tried to make too many changes to an asset. “First of all, in many cases you had M&A which was of assets that were second tier. The promise was to completely change the nature and the competitive position of the asset, in many cases, a turnaround.

“In this case, it’s a completely different situation. You have a group, not a single company in a single country, a group which has been a solid group for 10 years and delivering. There’s no turnaround to be made. It’s already very well managed. It’s number one in its markets.”

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Yaxley adds: “The most meaningful measure of progress is not simply who joins an organisation, but whether opportunities, development and leadership pathways are accessible to everyone.”

Despite the progress made, interviewees agree there are still areas where the gambling industry has work to do.

“I believe there is still work to be done to ensure diversity is fully reflected at every level of an organisation, particularly within senior leadership and executive positions,” Yaxley says.