In 2015, Galaxy Entertainment struck a deal with the Société des Bains de Mer et du Cercle des Étrangers à Monaco (SBM), to buy 5% of the casino firm out of Monaco. The $47-million deal was mutually beneficial, as it gave SBM a foot in the door to expand into the Asian market. That partnership could turn out to be highly lucrative, as the Galaxy-SMB alliance is more than likely going to try for one of the three casino licenses to be awarded by Japan.

In an interview with GGRAsia at the Japan Gaming Congress in Tokyo last week, SMB Managing Director Jean-Louis Masurel said, “We wanted to expand in Asia, and we decided it would be stupid to try and do it alone. It wouldn’t make sense if we had neither the human nor financial resources to do so. So that’s why we wanted to have a partner.”

Masurel added that there were similarities between Galaxy and Monaco that made choosing Galaxy an easy decision. Both casino companies were family controlled, although in the case of SBM it’s through the Monaco government by Prince Albert. Monaco is ruled by the House of Grimaldi, a royal family that has Italian roots from as early as the mid-1100s. The principality has been controlled by the Grimaldi family since, with Albert II of Monaco currently serving as its leader.

“We knew whatever we could do together [with Galaxy Entertainment] we could build it for the long term,” he explained. “It’s not a three-year or five-year agreement. When we signed the cooperative agreement, it’s for eight years, renewable for eight years and then for periods ad vitam.”