Melco signs Naomi Osaka as brand ambassador

Rising Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka

Melco Resorts & Entertainment has announced that rising Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka has been made brand ambassador and sports group manager for the company’s expected casino bid in Yokohama, one of eight Japanese locations considered to host one of three future integrated resorts.

“Being director of sports for Melco and having the chance to contribute to the content of the resort in Yokohama is amazing. Together we will be able to better integrate sport, health, and wellness into the concept,” Osaka said via video link at a press conference in Tokyo on Tuesday, according to media reports.

The Hong Kong-based company headed by Macau’s Lawrence Ho also announced that it plans to launch a 27-billion-yen (2-billion-pataca) fund to invest in non-gaming hotel projects in Japan.

The Melco Creative Exchange Fund will be used to invest in hospitability and entertainment developments in Japan, the company said, and was not related to its ambition to acquire a casino license.

The fund’s first two projects are expected to be an “onsen” or hot spring resort in Hakoke, near Tokyo, and a ski resort in Nagano in the mountainous Chūubu region. Both projects are expected to open around 2025, according to media reports.

Casino operators all over the world have been salivating at the once-in-a-generation prospect of opening resorts in Japan, which has the potential to become Asia’s second-largest gambling market after Macau.

All six of Macau’s casino operators or their parent companies have signaled an interest in the market.

In September, Melco said it was dropping out of the race to develop an integrated resort in Osaka, instead opting for a Yokohama-First policy to mirror MGM Resorts’ Osaka-First policy.

At a press conference in Tokyo on Tuesday, Chairman and CEO Lawrence Ho explained the decision by saying that Yokohama was a better fit for Melco’s mantra to “under-promise” and “over-deliver”.

Ho also expressed doubts that other casino operators would be able to meet the Osaka government’s target of producing a world-class integrated resort in time for the 2025 World Expo, reported local media. DB