MGM Resorts International formally proposed building a $9 billion casino resort in Osaka, reinvigorating its push to open Japan’s first casino gambling facility after pandemic-related delays.

Global casino operators have been looking for opportunities since Japan legalized casinos in 2018, but the process has moved slowly and some companies have dropped their bids.

Osaka, the core of Japan’s second most-populous region after the Tokyo area, has been among the most active in pushing casino plans. The city has offered Yumeshima, or “dream island,” a man-made patch in Osaka Bay, for a casino-centered resort.

Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura said Wednesday that Osaka has received a proposal from MGM and Japanese financial-services company Orix Corp. to spend ¥1 trillion, equivalent to about $9 billion, to build a casino resort. They are the only group pursuing such a project in Osaka.

While the Osaka government hasn’t officially given the consortium’s plan the go-ahead, Mr. Yoshimura hailed the proposal. “I would like to invite the world’s best integrated resort to Yumeshima where many people in Japan and abroad can come and enjoy Osaka after the pandemic is over,” Mr. Yoshimura said.