Universal Entertainment funds president-owned Nevada firm in slot market return

Universal Entertainment Corp will finance UDN Gaming Inc, a Nevada company wholly owned by Universal president Tomohiro Okada, with a credit facility of up to $25 million as the Japanese group moves back into the overseas gaming equipment business.

Aruze USA Inc, a Universal subsidiary, provides the facility at an annual interest rate of 5.12% running to 31 December 2035, drawn in stages as UDN needs the funds. All UDN shares held by Okada are pledged as collateral.

The terms

UDN was incorporated in Nevada on 13 March with initial capital of $1. Universal will license its gaming equipment intellectual property to UDN at $100 per unit shipped, and supply engineering, accounting and administrative services at direct cost plus 6%.

Universal holds no voting rights in UDN. It said it will still consolidate the company as a subsidiary under accounting standards, on the basis of the financing and service arrangements rather than equity.

Eight Universal directors approved the transactions unanimously. Okada abstained from the deliberations and the vote because the arrangements are related-party transactions. The board recorded that the terms would support business development without disadvantaging minority shareholders.

Why the president owns the company

Universal said the structure lets the business start earlier while the group pursues its own US gaming licences. UDN will apply for Nevada licences first. Universal intends to apply separately and later, then acquire all UDN shares from Okada once the US licence assessments are complete.

The company said Nevada licensing and suitability reviews are “expected to take a considerable amount of time.”

The suitability review will cover the Okada family’s record in the state. Tomohiro Okada is the son of Kazuo Okada, who founded the business as Aruze Corp and was removed as Universal chairman in 2017. Tomohiro Okada became president and representative director on 19 September 2024.

What happened to the last US slot business

Kazuo Okada acquired 50.5% of Las Vegas slot maker Aruze Gaming America in January 2009, and Universal transferred its remaining shares to him in March 2010. In March 2018 Universal sued Aruze Gaming America and Kazuo Okada in the District of Nevada, alleging infringement of four gaming machine patents across the G-Series and Cube-X product lines and that no licensing agreement had been put in place. A Universal special investigation committee put the cost to the company at about $20.5 million.

Aruze Gaming America filed for Chapter 11 protection in February 2023 after a $27.4 million garnishment judgment tied to its sole shareholder. It sold its slot operations to Play Synergy for $7 million and its table game assets to Interblock USA for $14 million, and laid off around 100 staff.

Aruze USA, the entity now lending to UDN, is the subsidiary that held Universal’s Wynn Resorts stake and received $2.6 billion when Wynn settled with Universal in March 2018.

Okada Manila earnings behind the move

Universal describes the slot business as a third pillar alongside its Japanese pachinko and pachislot operations and Okada Manila. It cited a declining domestic amusement equipment market and intensifying competition among Philippine integrated resorts.

Okada Manila’s first-quarter 2026 figures set out the second point. Adjusted segment EBITDA fell 55.7% to JPY2.04 billion, net sales fell 16% to JPY15.4 billion, and operating profit fell 92.8% to JPY23 million. Group sales rose 4.2% to JPY28.4 billion over the same period on pachinko and pachislot machine sales.

Philippine gross gaming revenue fell 15.9% to PHP87.6 billion in the first quarter of 2026, as covered in EpicWins’ report on the quarter.

S&P Global affirmed Universal at B- on 26 May 2026 and revised the outlook to negative, citing weak casino performance and liquidity risk. It cut its forecast for annual group EBITDA to just below JPY20 billion, from up to JPY25 billion, against roughly JPY15 billion of annual interest costs and JPY9 billion of capital renewal spending. Universal has $400 million of debt due in August 2029.

What comes next

Universal has not given a launch date, a product line or a target market beyond Nevada. Nothing ships until UDN is licensed. Universal’s own applications follow that, and the share transfer that turns UDN into a directly owned subsidiary depends on both.

Source: Universal Entertainment Corp