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Asahi Shimbun
09-06-2025
- Business
- Asahi Shimbun
Group: Illegal sports bets total 6.5 trillion yen from Japan
Hironori Inagaki, representative director of the Council for Sports Ecosystem Promotion, explains the state of sports betting markets. (Kosuke Inagaki) Gamblers in Japan illegally bet 6.5 trillion yen ($46 billion) on sports through overseas websites in 2024, a sign the nation should ratify an international treaty on preventing match-fixing, a group said. Betting on sports competitions has become a huge business in many countries. But most forms of sport gambling, including online wagering on competition outcomes, are prohibited in Japan. The Council for Sports Ecosystem Promotion (C-SEP) released its estimated Japanese wager amount during a symposium in Tokyo on May 14. C-SEP, a Japanese general incorporated foundation aimed at expanding the sports industry, said these overseas websites have been gaining a 'free ride' on sport competitions in Japan. Last year, 4.9 trillion yen was wagered through such sites on baseball, soccer, basketball and other sports played in Japan, C-SEP officials said. Of this amount, 3.8928 trillion yen was wagered by people overseas and 1.0183 trillion yen was placed in bets by residents of Japan. Soccer, including matches, accounted for the largest slice of the bets, at 2.8534 trillion yen, followed by Nippon Professional Baseball, at 882.9 billion yen, and basketball, including games, at 522.3 billion yen. About 60 percent of the bets on Japanese soccer were placed from China, compared with just over 10 percent from Japan. Sixty percent of the bets on Japanese baseball were placed from Japan, the officials said. Some sports betting websites overseas were found livestreaming the action from professional sport competitions in Japan, as well as using team logos and even portraits of athletes, without permission, the officials added. C-SEP Representative Director Hironori Inagaki, who is also a lawyer, recommended that Japan ratify the Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions, which the Council of Europe brought into effect in 2019. More commonly known as the Macolin Convention, the international arrangement calls on public authorities and sport organizations to work together to prevent match-fixing and other irregularities. Inagaki said the convention has been signed by 43 countries and ratified by 14 so far. 'There is a pressing need, for Japan as well, to build a similar arrangement and join a similar framework of international cooperation,' Inagaki said. Yuki Ota, an Olympic fencing medalist and an International Olympic Committee member, also took part in the symposium. He explained that 1.65 trillion yen was bet on events at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics. 'Many Japanese athletes compete in the Olympic Games, so there is a need for integrity education,' Ota said. Toshikazu Yamaguchi, president of the Yomiuri Shimbun Holdings newspaper publisher who is also owner of the Yomiuri Giants baseball team, expressed remorse over the recent revelation that some ballplayers, including Giants' members, were involved in illegal gambling on online casinos. 'With the spread of smartphones, there is a greater risk than a decade ago of players being involved in gambling,' Yamaguchi said. 'Japan should work toward signing and ratifying the Macolin Convention to prevent the nation's sporting world from being polluted with gambling and manipulation, which are descending on us from overseas.' He also pointed out there is no joint public-private body in Japan to address the issue. 'We should learn from cases overseas and promptly discuss the matter,' he said. (This article was written by Kosuke Inagaki and Taisuke Goto.)
The Mainichi
22-05-2025
- Business
- The Mainichi
About $45 billion wagered from Japan on int'l gambling sites in 2024: sports council
TOKYO -- Just over 6.45 trillion yen (approx. $45 billion) flowed out of Japan to international sports betting markets in 2024 through gambling on professional baseball, soccer and other sports, industry group the Council for Sports Ecosystem Promotion (C-SEP) revealed May 14 at a symposium in the country's capital. 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 -- accounted for 333.4 billion yen (roughly $2.32 billion), and basketball -- including the -- 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."
