Japan’s as-yet unbuilt casinos could place far greater emphasis on slot machines than casinos in other Asia-Pacific markets, according to a new market forecast.

The new white paper from Global Market Advisors (GMA) suggests that the eager international casino operators salivating over the chance to operate a Japanese integrated resort would do well to disregard many of the lessons learned from their casinos in Macau, Singapore, South Korea and Saipan.

The GMA study’s authors suggest that, while baccarat and other table games that are all the rage in other markets will undoubtedly be popular in Japan, “slot machines will have a far more prominent place” in Japan’s “machine-centric gaming culture.”

The authors base this view on the established appeal of pachinko and pachi-slot venues in Japan, and the belief that the number of Japanese electronic gaming machine manufacturers – Aruze, Konami, Sega Sammy, etc. – will produce a variety of compelling slots based on themes they know will appeal to Japanese gamblers.