About $45 billion wagered from Japan on int'l gambling sites in 2024: sports council
Japanese law prohibits accessing overseas websites to engage in gambling.
Online casinos have in some cases featured sports betting at the top of their sites. While the National Police Agency estimates the annual amount staked on domestic online casinos at about 1.2423 trillion yen (some $8.67 billion), the outflow to overseas markets is more than five times greater.
C-SEP calculated these figures by requesting data from major internet providers and consultants overseas. Of the 6.4503 trillion yen total, about 1 trillion was bet by residents of Japan on domestic sports using overseas services. Pro baseball made up 528.1 billion yen ($3.68 billion or so) of this, while soccer -- such as the J.League -- accounted for 333.4 billion yen (roughly $2.32 billion), and basketball -- including the B.League -- represented 86.92 billion yen (around $606 million).
The global market for betting on Japanese sports, both inside and outside Japan, is estimated to total about 4.9 trillion yen (roughly $34.18 billion).
Some players from professional baseball teams including the Orix Buffaloes and Yomiuri Giants have been referred to prosecutors on gambling charges over the suspected use of online casinos. In addition, Nippon Professional Baseball's internal body issued fines totaling 10.2 million yen (around $75,175) to 16 individuals from eight teams who used such services.
Japan is already considered a "gambling powerhouse," with total revenue of the Japan Racing Association's "Chuo Keiba" horse races exceeding 3.3 trillion yen (about $23 billion) and boat racing surpassing 2.5 trillion yen in 2024.
Meanwhile, some in the business and political worlds argue that legalizing domestic sports betting on pro baseball and other sports could help prevent the outflow of money to illegal markets. However, Toshikazu Yamaguchi, a C-SEP council member and owner of the Yomiuri Giants, expressed skepticism to reporters on the same day, stating, "I think that's unlikely. Nobody in pro baseball is of the opinion that such a market should be created."
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