The casino industry is one among many that have really grown in the last few years, more than some would have anticipated. The total size of both the online and physical casino industry was estimated to be at around $227 billion last year, and is expected to be more than double that in just a few years. As a result of this, many countries in the world have been considering legalizing gambling, and more and more research is being conducted into the rates of addiction in countries that have legalized.

One such country is Japan, where gambling has been illegal since 1907. Only recently was the operation of casinos made legal in the pursuit of constructing three integrated resorts, with the hopes of significantly boosting Japans economy. One kind of gambler that some of cities of Japan are attempting to target, is the high roller, and they are doing so through these upcoming luxury resorts. We spoke to Japan-101, a popular casino reviews website in Japan about how Japan is going to try target these high rollers.

What is a high roller?

A high roller is a term used by the casino industry to describe someone who take full advantage of the complimentary items and service made available to them as a result of spending large amounts of money at the casino. High rollers, also known as cheetahs or whales, can provide large profits for casinos if they lose, but could also be an expense to casinos should they win.

This is because the complimentary items and service provided are an expense to the casino. Casinos generally tend to want attract these high-stakes gamblers because it’s an immediate pay off, and sometimes even don’t enforce regulations. Such is the case at the Crown Casino in Melbourne, Australia, where there isn’t a ban on smoking in the high roller rooms at the casino.

The integrated resorts and what they should have

Although facing some adversity and having the deadline for the submission of bids delayed significantly, Japan is continuing with its plan to construct three integrated resorts in three different cities. The submission period was announced and is set to run from October 1, 2021 to April 28, 2022. An example given by the government as to the size of a resort was that of a structure housing 2,000 standard rooms and 500 suites, at 40 sq. meters and 70 sq. meters each, respectively. These resorts may not benefit from local high rollers, as there are strict entrance requirements in place to reduce a gambling addiction from forming, such as a ¥6,000 casino entry fee, and 10 visits per month.

If these resorts are to attract high-stakes gamblers from abroad then there are a few requirements that need to be met. In terms of the games provided, there should be ample high-stakes tables where high rollers would not need to wait for undue amounts of time.

The food and beverages offered should also be of super-high quality, as well as the service. Additional requirements would be the stores provided for shopping, which should sell the highest quality products, and offer an experience of the same level.

China could be the biggest source of income

Japanese officials are of the thought that gamblers from China could be the biggest source of income for the casinos, based on statistics acquired from mobile betting sites. Osaka, a candidate for the construction of one of the resorts, has grand plans based on this thought, although there might be some challenges.

The first challenge is that the staff operating at the resort, whether it be waiters or dealers, should be well versed in the language spoken by the Chinese visitors, especially if they are high rollers. The second is the complimentary service and items provided to these high rollers should be extravagant enough to make them travel in traffic for more than hour after already having traveled to Yumeshima, which is where the resort is likely going to be located.

The final challenge is the fact Chinese gamblers would need games that are suited to the taste they’ve acquired, which is lower-tech games that have a larger payout. Changing to slot games, that are designed to not have so many frequent big payouts might be an important aspect that would affect the attendance of these high rollers.