Prominent Macau junket Suncity wants to get in on the gambling action in Japan. It has formed an alliance with several unidentified Japanese companies that will study the possibility of applying for one of the few casino licenses to be issued by the country. The news came by way of an interview at G2E Asia with the company’s executive director, Andrew Lo.

Lo further stated that the size of the investment will be predicated on the location of the resort, as well as the final design of the casino legislation. He said during the interview with Asia Gaming Brief, “We are just beginning. We are willing to spend some expenses, form a consortium and hire a few guys to try to understand more because the rules and policies aren’t that ready yet.

“A committee asked me what am I going to invest. I said if you give me a big plot of land in front of the palace I’m going to invest $50 billion, if they give me a remote island I may consider $500 million,” Lo added.

The final touches are currently being added to Japan’s Integrated Resort (IR) Implementation Bill. Legislators are addressing how the industry should be governed and responding to concerns that have been raised over some of the bill’s amendments. Questions regarding license renewal periods and procedures, a 3% cap on the casino floor size and high tax rates are some of the issues that still need to be ironed out before the legislation is approved.