Summary
The global casino development pipeline has been quieter since 2019, but several significant projects are now past the planning stage and actually being built. Japan's Osaka IR is under construction. New York's licensing fight is still grinding along. The UAE is about to get its first casino. Here's where the most important developments stand right now.
The global casino development pipeline has been quieter since the post-2019 disruption, but several significant projects are now at stages where they're actually happening: permits signed, construction underway, or in some cases soft-open and operating.
Japan
Japan approved its integrated resort framework years ago, and for a while it looked like the entire program might stall. It hasn't. Osaka's IR project, anchored by MGM Resorts and Orix Corporation on the Yumeshima artificial island, is the furthest along, with construction underway and a targeted opening window of 2030. The Osaka IR will include a casino, convention center, hotels, and entertainment facilities, and the total investment is one of the largest in casino history. Two additional licenses remain available, with Nagasaki and possibly a Tokyo-area location in contention.
New York City
New York State is awarding three downstate casino licenses, and the competition for them has been one of the more complicated licensing battles in recent memory. The leading proposals include Sands at Nassau Coliseum on Long Island, MGM's expansion at Empire City in Yonkers (already operating slots), and multiple Manhattan proposals tied to Hudson Yards and Times Square. Community opposition has complicated the Manhattan bids significantly, and the licensing authority has pushed timelines several times. This is a situation to watch rather than count on, but when New York's downstate licenses resolve, they'll be among the most valuable gaming licenses awarded anywhere in decades.
Thailand
Thailand has been discussing casino legalization for years, and the current government appears more serious about it than predecessors. A bill authorizing entertainment complexes (the Thai legislative framing for integrated resorts with casinos) has cleared initial hurdles, with Bangkok and Phuket among the targeted locations. The regulatory structure is still being built, but the direction of travel has shifted from theoretical to plausible. If Thailand moves forward, it would be the largest new gaming market to open in Southeast Asia since Macau's liberalization in the early 2000s.
The Philippines
PAGCOR, the Philippine gaming authority, has been pushing development at Entertainment City, Manila's integrated resort district. Solaire, City of Dreams Manila, and Okada Manila are already operational, and additional phases are in various stages of completion. Entertainment City is the most built-out IR district in Southeast Asia outside Macau and Singapore, and it continues to expand.
Saudi Arabia
This one is speculative, but it's on the list because the scale of potential development is too large to ignore. Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 tourism infrastructure includes NEOM, Diriyah, and a major Red Sea resort project. Whether any of these will eventually include gaming is unclear since gambling remains illegal under Saudi law, but the volume of foreign investment in Saudi leisure infrastructure and the government's stated intent to attract international tourism make this a situation where the conventional answer (it won't happen) might be wrong over a long enough time horizon.
United Arab Emirates
Wynn Resorts announced a UAE property, Wynn Al Marjan Island in Ras Al Khaimah, that is under construction and expected to open in 2027. The UAE does not currently permit traditional casino gambling, but the regulatory environment is evolving and the Wynn project is widely understood to be positioned for whatever the UAE's licensing framework looks like when the property opens. If UAE gaming regulation clears before 2027, this will be the most significant new casino opening in the region in history.
How to follow this
Casino development moves slowly and then all at once. Licensing decisions, regulatory changes, and construction timelines shift regularly. Gambler's Atlas updates its listings as new properties come online and adds verified operational information as it becomes available.
