Going into a new, emerging market can be tricky, even more so when they haven’t entirely established their regulations. To do it right, it’s best to check with an expert first, so CalvinAyre’s Becky Liggero Fontana caught up with Brendan Bussmann of Global Market Advisors to talk about the current and future opportunities of Japan, Brazil and other emerging markets.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGyogUYhCy4?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281]

There’s always lots of exciting news coming out of Japan, and while COVID-19 has put a damper on progress, much of the insight Bussmann gave us when this interview was conducted in February still holds true. “There’s a lot of movement happening in Japan right now, partially because of some recent events that haven’t been the most pleasant things, with the scandal with 500.com and other things,” Bussmann said. “But it’s really where operators are finally getting to dig in, get an RFP [Request for Proposal] process going which will all start probably mostly Q2 with the exception of Osaka, and then basically about a year from now, delve into the full RFP process once those are chosen for the sites, between the prefecture and the partnership they create with an operator, try to win one of the three licenses at the central government level.”

Liggero Fontana asked Bussmann to help explain how Japan differs from the U.S., where he started. “I would say culturally, there’s some significant differences along the way, and things can’t get lost in translation,” he began. “That’s probably the biggest thing is, the educational standpoint. And what you can learn from the States, and I would say not just Nevada when I say that, but even I would take Singapore, those are pretty much the two jurisdictions they’re leaning off of when it comes to the regulatory structure. They want good clean operators that have a good solid past that not only has the financial wherewithal to do it but the regulatory background to say, ‘Hey, we know you’re going to be a good operator.’ And so, that’s what they’re gleaning off of. So they’re talking to Nevadans, they’re talking to the regulators in Nevada, they’re also talking to the Singaporeans, learning from their regulatory structure and seeing what’s going to be the best fit to make that Japanese fit along the way to make it happen.”