Lawrence Ho, the billionaire owner of Melco Resorts & Entertainment, said he favors building a casino in Osaka rather than Tokyo because there are more opportunities to develop the smaller city as an entertainment destination.

Ho is among industry heavyweights seeking entry to Japan after lawmakers voted in December to open the country to casino gambling. The government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, which made casino liberalization a priority, has not yet decided where those casinos will be built nor which companies will operate them.

The prize could be the world's most lucrative casino market, which CLSA estimates could generate about ¥2.28 trillion annually. While Melco is considering the viability of Tokyo and nearby Yokohama, the company's top choice is Osaka and the surrounding Kansai region.