With the race for Osaka casino narrowing down to three contenders, experts and those familiar with the matter believe that MGM Resorts is most likely to be the casino partner in Osaka.

According to Fitch Ratings, MGM is the top contender for Japanese IR license in Osaka. Moreover, GGR Asia reports that MGM is emerging as the preferred choice for Osaka Casino.

MGM Resorts International, Genting Singapore, and Galaxy Entertainment Group are in the race for a casino license in Osaka.

Earlier this week, Melco released its “Yokohama First” strategy as a part of its plan to tap into the newly regulated Japanese casino gambling industry. The gambling operator said that they are no longer pursuing a casino license in Osaka.

Caesars Entertainment has already pulled itself from the race for a Japanese casino license.

Talking to GGRAsia, Alex Bumazhny said:“The exit of Las Vegas Sands and Melco [Resorts] from Osaka certainly increases the probability that the MGM/Orix consortium, which was already a strong contender, wins the RFP [request-for-proposal] there. However, a handful of other operators that have not pulled out [of Osaka] yet, such as Genting [Group] and Wynn [Resorts Ltd], also have a decent chance.”

“Our sense is that whatever ends up being built [in Osaka] will be world-class and will be the maximum investment the winning operator could make before jeopardizing their return on investment thresholds. None of the major public operators that are left in the race are known for underinvesting when looking at their recent portfolios, and all have solid financial profiles as well as development and operating experience,” he explained.