The success of Covid requires a rethinking of the rules of the game in Japan in Japan

The Japanese government has begun internal discussions to legalize the game of football and baseball in a move that would create a combined sports betting market worth more than $ 65 billion a year.

The two people with direct knowledge of the situation mean the secret discussions described in the Financial Times bets Nippon Professional League would be regulated in baseball as soon as 2024.

In the same year could come a more complete deregulation of high-level J-League football bets, which is partially legalized through a pool-style lottery system.

The debates have long broken the taboo against opening up opportunities for the Japanese public to bet freely on the two most popular sports in the country.

Although there is still a high level of political sensitivity about sports betting, people familiar with the interviews said that Covid-19’s resistance to the idea has dropped significantly and that this has caused economic damage to professional sports.

In the first six months of 2020, Japan’s professional sports industry suffered a $ 2.5 billion loss due to the cancellation of games and the lack of spectators, according to estimates by Kansai University.

Japan allows only four sports to be opted for: horse racing, cycling and motor and boat racing. In 2019, the revenue from four combined bets was around 6 6 trillion ($ 55 billion), and bets on horse racing increased significantly mobile betting applications went online.

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People involved in online gaming sites have said that the desire to bet on Japanese home baseball and football leagues is potentially high. Many Japanese already use credit cards issued abroad in betting on illegal sports and online casinos through offshore hosted sites, and large people in the market sector said they probably generated a turnover of about $ 40 billion a year.

“For years they have seen opportunities in Japan and the outside world to deregulate baseball and football betting as the Holy Grail,” said one person familiar with the debate.

“It’s probably too early to say when it will actually happen, but what has happened with the sport in the last year has come a long way for the government.”

Representatives from the baseball and football industry, such as corporations such as Rakuten, CyberAgent and Mixi, who are involved in offering online betting, have spent years convincing the government to keep these potential betting revenues in Japan.

When he indicated that attitudes to the pandemic had changed dramatically, the government last summer asked the advertising and market research firm Dentsu to investigate the environment that deregulated baseball and football betting. Debates over the internal government began after Densu’s presentation in September, people who knew the situation said.

Densu said he could not immediately confirm the existence of his presentation.

In addition to the pressure created by the pandemic, lobbyists in 2016 expressed a keen effort by the government to push for laws to legalize casinos in Japan.

In December, the Japanese New Economy Association, a business lobbying group formed by Hiroshi Mikitani, founder of the Rakuten ecommerce group, called for the lifting of the sports betting ban. The group was part of a number of emergency proposals to the government to revitalize the Japanese tourism industry.

Two months earlier, the CyberAgent Internet team estimated that the Japanese sports betting market could have annual revenue of $ 7 million if it added more popular sports to its current lineup.

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“If the ban on sports betting is completely lifted in the future, we believe it will bring new sources of money for athletes, their organizations and the sports industry,” CyberAgent, which already uses an online betting platform for horse and motorcycle racing. , he said in a note written via email.

Mixi game developer Mixi said he has been involved in various committees and study groups on the promotion of sports businesses, including sports betting.

“If the regulations on betting in other sports are relaxed, new revenue can be expected for the growth of the Japanese sports industry, and we would like to help in that area,” the company said.