Emotiwins

About Emotiwins

Japan’s gambling landscape has remained an enigma. It began as a seismic opportunity sought after by international casino giants following the enactment of its Integrated Resort Implementation Law in 2018, but as progress slowed potential bidders withdrew, and MGM Osaka emerged as the only new kid on the IR block, with a launch date of 2030.

Now, with Japan promising to open two more IR licences in 2027, ambitious bidders are craning their necks for a leg up over the competition. But Japan has telegraphed mixed messaging on the casino industry.

Depsite it having liberalised gambling in pursuit of the economic benefits that casinos can bring, its regulatory architecture and deeply ingrained social attitudes are not particuarly pro gambling.

About Emotiwins

For Ramiro Atucha, founder and CEO of Atucha Strategic Advisory, whether international operators can press home their scalable advantages will depend on how seriously they take localisation.

“When we talk about localisation, we’re not talking about the language or doing a game about Machu Picchu,” he tells iGB. “We’re talking about taking the effort to understand what the history of those players is, what they’re used to.

“I always found it funny when Colombia was starting, operators were saying ‘players here do not like slots’, as if they have a different DNA. Five years later, they would say, ‘well, they do like slots, but simple slots’. And five years later, they were playing all the usual [slots]. It’s not that they didn’t like slots.

About Emotiwins

Earlier this year, the Powerball game launched in the UK, allowing Brits to play for the same uncapped jackpot as their American peers. A few weeks ago, on the other hand, the first Match 5 win in the UK happened. This has now happened again, as Powerball reported another seven-figure payout in the county.

The Monday Powerball drawing had players competing for a jackpot of $314 million with a cash value of $133.8 million. In order to win, players had to correctly match all six winning numbers. The white winning numbers for the September 21 drawing were 2, 7, 9, 17, and 58. The red Powerball, on the other hand, was 20, while the Power Play multiplier stood at 2x.

Unfortunately, a jackpot win did not occur, although the game continued to award smaller prizes to players across the US and UK. As mentioned, a second Match 5 win happened in the UK, where a lucky player succeeded in matching all five winning numbers to redeem a $1 million payout. The drawing did not have a Match 5 + Power Play win of $2 million.