Japan plans to legalize professional baseball betting in 2024.

Janak9955

The Japanese government is internally discussing the legalization of sports betting on national baseball and soccer, with measures expected to create a large sports betting market with an annual value of over $65 billion!

Baseball is considered the second national sport in Japan after sumo wrestling. According to sources cited by the Financial Times, the Japanese government's "secret meeting" suggests that Japanese fans could be able to bet on the top professional baseball league (Nippon Professional League) events as early as 2024. The question of whether professional baseball can involve gambling challenges a long-standing taboo in Japan. After all, baseball and soccer are the two most popular sports in Japan, holding high status.

According to statistics from Kansai University, in the sixth month of 2020, due to event cancellations and absence of spectators, the Japanese professional sports industry suffered a loss of $2.5 billion. Currently, Japan only allows betting on horse racing, cycling, motorboat racing, and motorcycle racing. In 2019, the revenue from these four sports betting activities was approximately 6 trillion yen, equivalent to about 355 billion yuan. Horse racing betting saw a significant increase with the introduction of mobile betting apps.

The largest gambling activity in Japan is pachinko, a pinball game, whose annual revenue has been declining but has been maintained at around $200 billion. Its business model relies on legal loopholes. Industry insiders believe that Japanese players have a strong appetite for betting on domestic professional baseball and soccer leagues. Many Japanese players have long been using foreign-issued credit cards to bet on sports events online or patronize offshore-operated online casinos. Insiders estimate that the related market's annual revenue is around $40 billion.

Insiders point out that for many years, both Japanese and foreign individuals have considered the legalization of local baseball and soccer betting as a dream. It may be too early to assert when it will actually be opened, but the impact on the Japanese sports industry last year has made the government more proactive. Representatives from the Japanese baseball and soccer industry, as well as companies providing legal online gambling services such as Rakuten, CyberAgent, and Mixi, have been persuading the government for years to keep these attractive and potentially lucrative gambling revenues within Japan.

Jatin255

This is also coming to take a look and understand the market situation.

Jiger955

This is also something to look forward to.

Kamal531

This sports news is still worth paying attention to.