After losing out on the race to bring an integrated casino resort to its home nation and Japanese gaming conglomerate Sega Sammy Holdings Incorporated has reportedly announced that it may now start investigating foreign iGaming opportunities.
According to a report from GGRAsia, the revelation from the Tokyo-listed behemoth comes some two months after its attempt in partnership with Genting Singapore Limited to bring a Las Vegas-style facility to the city of Yokohama was thwarted. The source detailed that this proposed endeavor was cancelled as a result of 48-year-old anti-gambling campaigner Takeharu Yamanaka being elected as the latest mayor for the metropolis of approximately 3.8 million people and officially shelving his community’s future casino plans.
Significant stakes:
In a recent update regarding its outlook for the for the twelve months to the end of next March and Sega Sammy Holdings Incorporated reportedly declared that it could now start looking to ‘invest heavily’ in fresh ‘opportunities for the domestic integrated resort business’ as well as foreign iGaming prospects over the course of the upcoming three years. The Yokohama-headquartered company’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Haruki Satomi, and Chief Financial Officer, Koichi Fukazawa, purportedly told investors that this latter option may encompass ‘other areas such as online betting’ as this is a sector that is ‘gaining force overseas.’
Current concerns:
Sega Sammy Holdings Incorporated is one of the world’s largest producers of in-home video and land-based arcade games while moreover supplying pachinko and pachislot titles to facilities across the length and breadth of Japan. The heavyweight is additionally responsible for the non-gaming Phoenix Seagaia Resort on the southern island of Kyushu while holding a 45% stake in South Korea’s large Paradise City integrated casino resort.
Recent recovery:
For the six months to the end of September and Sega Sammy Holdings Incorporated reportedly disclosed that its net profit had improved by an eye-watering 155% year-on-year to stand at approximately $105.2 million. Satomi and Fukazawa purportedly went on to note that their firm would more than likely prioritize any investments in iGaming should it decide to move into this potentially lucrative vertical.
Timely threesome:
Although most gambling is currently illegal in Japan, the coalition government of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe passed the Integrated Resort Implementation Bill in July of 2018 so as to initiate a program to license a trio of large integrated casino resorts. The massive city of Osaka as well as the territories of Wakayama Prefecture and Nagasaki Prefecture have already selected their preferred operating partners, which is a requirement of the process, and are now preparing to submit their official bids to a panel of federal selectors in advance of an April 28 deadline.