Sega could “prioritise” investment in online gambling

Japanese video game giant Sega has indicated its interest in a potential transition into the online gambling space.

The monolith, famous for the iconic Sonic the Hedgehog character and various other video games and consoles, has noted that it would use business funds to potentially explore a penetration into the market.

The company, now known as Sega Sammy due to a merger of Sega and Sammy Corporation in 2004, revealed it had planned investments totalling JPY100bn to help improve the business during its Q2 financial results.

When asked what the firm plans to do with said funds, Sega Sammy CEO Haruki Satomi detailed a list of potential opportunities, including online gambling.

He said: “Opportunities for the domestic IR business may emerge in the next one to three years, but in the meantime, if there are opportunities to invest heavily in other areas, such as online betting which is gaining force overseas, there is the chance we prioritise them.”

While Satomi did not disclose a specific geographical region for potential investment, the burgeoning US market would appear to be the most likely candidate for investment.

Satomi also noted the firm would explore investments into the growing non-fungible tokens (NFT) industry and would be open to flexing its M&A muscles should the correct proposition present itself.

Sega Sammy potentially dipping its toes into the gambling waters follows the ultimately failed plans from fellow gaming stalwart Atari to launch a cryptocurrency-based casino last year.