Japan's Osaka Prefecture and municipal authorities have allocated a total of 600 million yen ($4.5 million) for fiscal year 2023, which starts in April, for a joint push for an integrated resort (IR) with casinos.

According to GGRAsia's Japan correspondent, the budget to be allocated to the Osaka IR Promotion Bureau was down 6.4% compared to the budget for fiscal 2022.

Of the IR-related budget for fiscal year 2023, 115 million yen is intended to implement "political measures" and the rest to cover manpower-related costs.

The Osaka Prefecture released the information on Wednesday in a draft budget for next fiscal year.

The tilt of the casino resort in Osaka is jointly operated by the prefectures and municipal authorities. The operating costs of the Osaka IR Promotion Bureau are shared by the prefectures and municipal authorities.

Osaka filed with the government in April last year, but is still awaiting a response from central authorities, as is Nagasaki, others hoping for a casino resort.

Osaka is working as a private sector partner in partnership with casino operators MGM Resorts International and Japan's Orix for the IR. The resort complex (pictured with an artist's rendering) requires an initial investment of 1.80 trillion yen ($8.02 billion at current exchange rates) according to past statements, with an opening target date of 2029.

MGM Resorts CEO Bill Hornbuckle said earlier this month that the group would be "challenged" by Japanese authorities "if we don't hear from you soon" regarding its ambition to open its Japanese game complex by 2029. His comments came during MGM Resorts' fourth-quarter earnings call.

He said, "We were hoping to hear in October. Obviously, we sat here in February and we didn't hear. The process is at MLIT [Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport], a government agency that is constantly asking us questions about the project, about the contract with the Osaka government, and about it today."

Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is the public department overseeing the investigation into casino resort proposals in Osaka and Nagasaki.

Earlier this week, Nagasaki Prefecture said it had earmarked less than 1.52 billion yen for a draft budget for fiscal 2023 for a slope at a casino resort.

BY: 릴게임