The anti-casino community group in Japan's Osaka metropolitan area on Monday passed the 2% threshold of "effective" local voter signatures needed for a referendum on Osaka's (pictured) efforts to win an integrated resort (IR), according to information gathered by GGRAsia's Japan correspondent.

On June 6, the group announced that it had gathered 208,552 signatures and submitted them to the Osaka Prefectural Election Commission to verify their legitimacy.

The group said Monday that the committee confirmed that at least 146,472 of them, or 2% of local voters, were real.

On that basis, Hirofumi Yoshimura, governor of Osaka Prefecture, is expected to submit a draft ordinance to hold such a referendum in the current parliament, which includes his opinion on the matter.

On June 6, Mr. Yoshimura said he did not think a referendum on the IR topic was necessary.

The Osaka Restoration Society, a regional political group that supports IR policies, currently retains a majority of seats in the Osaka Prefecture Council.

In February, the Osaka City Council voted against holding a referendum on the IR issue.

The metropolitan city submitted an IR bid to the national government at the end of April.

With an initial investment of 1.8 trillion yen ($8 billion at the current exchange rate), the project is planned for Yume-Shima, an artificial island in Osaka Bay. Osaka has partnered with U.S.-based casino operators MGM Resorts International and Japan's Orix as private sector partners for IR.

Earlier this month, MGM Resorts Chief Financial Officer Jonathan Halkyard told an investor meeting that the company expected an official announcement from the Japanese government on its Osaka proposal in the fall.

The country's legislation allowed for up to three IRs in the first round of liberalisation, but only one of Nagasaki's other big cities submitted bids by the deadline.

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