Reuters – Philippine leisure and gaming firm Bloomberry Resorts Corp is in talks with a potential Japanese partner for what could be the company’s maiden overseas venture, its chief executive officer said on Thursday. The talks are in preparation for bidding for a gaming license if and when a Japanese gambling law is passed, Enrique Razon, Bloomberry CEO and the Philippines’ fourth-richest man, said at a stockholders meeting. He did not name the Japanese firm. “We’re now working on Japan,” Razon said. “If the integrated resort law passes in Japan this year, we will contend for a license.” Japan is…

Reuters – South Korean casino operator Paradise Co has hired Jose Mourinho, the outspoken manager of English football giants Chelsea, as the face of its new advertising campaign to lure punters from China, where the sport is increasingly popular. Paradise is teaming up with Japan’s Sega Sammy Holdings Inc to build a $1.7 billion casino resort in the coastal city of Incheon, near the country’s main international airport, with construction to be completed in 2017. It faces steep competition from operators like Genting Singapore PLC and Caesars Entertainment Corp, which are moving to build their own tourist-focused resorts in South…

Reuters – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is set to tour Singapore’s two lavish casino resorts on Friday as his home country toys with the idea of liberalizing casino gambling to boost tourism and attract investment. Japan, home to 128 million people and the world’s third largest economy, is widely seen as a prize market for casino operators due to its affluent population and close proximity to wealthy Asian gamblers in the region. Brokerage CLSA estimates Japan could be the world’s third biggest gambling market after Macau and the United States, raking in revenues of at least $40 billion annually…

Daily Finance – Japanese gaming is getting everyone excited. With a summer vote pending to legalize casino building in the country, casino CEOs are already fighting over bids and locations. Neil Bluhm, the Chicago man who has built a real estate empire with casinos around the U.S. and Canada, is preparing to place his bid on the southern city of Osaka. Las Vegas Sands CEO and gaming entrepreneur Sheldon Adelson is putting his bet, a very large bet, on the capital city of Tokyo. Other companies, such as Wynn Resorts and Melco Crown are preparing their bets as well. So…

Reuters – Japanese gaming company Konami Corp said it was planning to invest in casinos in anticipation of legislation to legalise gambling and help create an entertainment and resort market some estimate to be worth over $40 billion. Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers are trying to pass legislation allowing the development of casino resorts in Japan, although time is running out for a bill to be approved in the current parliamentary session ending next month. Konami said it would set up a subsidiary, once a casino bill is passed, through which it would take a minority stake in casinos in partnership…

Three state recognized tribes that are seeking federal recognition could push to open more casinos across Connecticut, which has local officials worried about traffic and land claims in the area. The Golden Hill Paugussetts in Colchester and Trumbull, the Eastern Pequots in North Stonington, and the Schaghticokes in Kent are closing on an approval from the U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs that will change the current standard of proof required for tribes. “The casino issue is percolating again,” said First Selectman Rudy Marconi on Monday. The tribes are “trying to get the regulations relaxed so they can…