Las Vegas Sands Corp., the world’s largest casino company, is dropping its pursuit of a license in Japan, ending a multidecade quest for what was one of the biggest prizes in the global gambling business.
The company founded by billionaire Sheldon Adelson has been trying to expand in Japan since at least 2005, but management objected to some terms of the country’s casino legislation, according to people familiar with the matter.
One of the biggest stumbling blocks was that the concession would be good for only 10 years. Even in that time frame, national or local government officials could change the terms in a way that might crimp profit. The company’s resorts in Macau and Singapore have licenses that extend for 20 and 30 years, respectively.