Universal Entertainment Corp. has agreed to seek loans of up to $25 million to build a gaming-equipment manufacturing facility in Nevada, marking the Japanese company's first concrete step toward returning to a U.S. market it exited amid bankruptcy and a bitter family power struggle just a few years ago. The financing would flow through a newly formed Nevada company called UDN Gaming, which would develop, manufacture and sell gaming equipment including slot machines.
According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the loan agreement is expected to close on Sept. 30 and remain effective through the end of 2035. The lender would be Aruze USA Inc., a wholly owned Universal Entertainment subsidiary, and the credit facility carries a 5.12% annual interest rate, according to agbrief.com. It is unclear where in Nevada Universal is seeking to build, the newspaper reports.
UDN Gaming itself has an unusual origin story. The entity was established in Nevada on March 13, 2026, with initial capital of just $1, and it is wholly owned by Universal President Tomohiro Okada, according to sigma.world. Casino.com reports that Universal Entertainment may later acquire UDN outright, depending on the licensing process.
Why Nevada, and Why Now
Universal Entertainment conducts business primarily through amusement-equipment and integrated-resort operations, but the company has recognized that the domestic amusement-equipment market in Japan is trending downward while competition in the Philippines' integrated-resort business is intensifying. The company wants its overseas gaming-equipment business to become a third pillar alongside those two existing operations, per agbrief.com's reporting.
The company pointed to the availability of skilled employees in the gaming-equipment field and Nevada's prominence in gaming regulation as reasons for considering the state for a manufacturing center, the Review-Journal's report notes. Daron Dorsey, president and CEO of the Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers in Las Vegas, said Nevada is suitable for the company's operation because of its proximity to potential vendors across North America and its reputation among gaming regulators, per the same account. Nevada, the outlet reports, has among the world's most stringent gaming-license reviews, which examine major shareholders, directors, key employees and other relevant people.
A Company With a Turbulent Recent Past
Universal Entertainment's ties to Nevada are not new, but its most recent chapter there ended badly. Aruze filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2023, and during those proceedings sold its slot operations to Las Vegas-based Play Synergy for $7 million while its table-game assets went to Interblock USA for $14 million, the Review-Journal reports. An estimated 100 employees were laid off at the time.
The bankruptcy came against the backdrop of a family leadership crisis. Kazuo Okada, who once partnered with Steve Wynn and was an investor in Wynn Resorts, was ousted from Aruze leadership in 2017 after being accused of misappropriating millions of dollars in company funds — allegations he denied, according to the Review-Journal's reporting. His son, Tomohiro Okada, convinced family members to vote to remove Kazuo Okada from the company. Kazuo Okada had earlier attempted to convince Wynn to invest in Okada Manila, the integrated resort that opened in the Philippines in 2016.
What Aruze Brings to the Table
Universal Entertainment says it plans to utilize technologies, intellectual property, business know-how and other resources already developed for gaming equipment as it re-enters the business. Aruze is behind the Loaded Up Riches, Dragon's Frame and Moo Moo Cash series of slot-machine games, the Review-Journal notes.
Financially, the stakes for Universal are significant even if this particular deal is small on paper. The company reported a net loss of roughly JPY231.4 billion — about $1.51 billion — for 2025, according to casino.com. Universal has said it expects the UDN arrangements to have an immaterial effect on its consolidated financial results for 2026, per agbrief.com's report.
Nevada's Slot-Manufacturing Scene Keeps Growing
Universal would be entering a Nevada manufacturing landscape that has recently shown signs of expansion elsewhere. Las Vegas-based Gaming Arts, which was acquired by German-based Merkur Gaming in September 2025, opened The Forge, a new 23,000-square-foot manufacturing facility on West Harmon Avenue, on April 16, 2026 — nearly triple the size of its former 8,000-square-foot headquarters, the Review-Journal reported separately. That company's workforce grew from 62 employees in August 2025 to 83 when the new facility opened, with plans to add another 10 to 15 employees through the rest of 2026 and keep growing into 2027.
For Universal Entertainment, the path forward still runs through licensing. The company has said it expects direct license applications to require significant time for suitability reviews, given the scrutiny Nevada regulators apply to major shareholders, directors and other key figures tied to an applicant. Whether that scrutiny slows UDN Gaming's timeline, or where in Nevada the company ultimately decides to build, remains to be seen.
