MGM Osaka, Japan's first integrated resort casino, will commence construction of its main structure in April 2025. The $8 billion (JPY1.27 trillion) project is a joint venture between MGM Resorts International and Orix Corporation.

Site preparation on Yumeshima Island began in late 2023, with workers installing steel beams extending over 200 feet to bedrock to strengthen the artificial island's foundation. The 52-acre development site will undergo several months of preparation before major construction begins.

The ownership structure comprises MGM Resorts and Orix each holding 42.5% equity stakes, with the remaining 15% distributed among Japanese companies including Panasonic, Kansai Electric, and West Japan Railway.

The resort will feature:

• 9 million square feet of indoor space
• 2,500 hotel rooms
• 3,500-seat theater
• Convention center
• Shopping mall
• Spa and fitness center
• Casino (approximately 200 table games and 2,000 slot machines)
• Japanese tourism promotion facility

The casino floor will occupy 3% of the total indoor space, adhering to Japan's 2018 casino law regulations. MGM Osaka aims to complete the project by 2030.

Yumeshima Island, constructed in the 1980s by the Osaka government, previously served primarily as a logistics center. After Japan's National Diet considered casino legalization in 2017, Osaka proposed the island for integrated resort development. MGM Osaka received its official gaming license in April 2023, becoming the only casino bid approved under Japan's 2018 gaming statute.

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