Oct 04 (newsonjapan.com) - The gambling laws in Japan are not the easiest to work out and understand. The big point is that no legal casinos exist in the country, although that doesn’t stop other forms of gambling from existing as a stand alone service.
This means things like sports betting, lotteries, and pachinko are legal. In 1998 an act was passed to allow legal sports betting in football pools on the local J-League.
Popular Betting Opportunities in Japan
Football and horse racing are the two main sports on which gambling takes place in Japan.
Toto Football Pools or J-League Pools
These pools allow people in Japan to legally bet on the Japanese soccer league, known as the J-League. The system to do this is know as Toto, and to participate, gamblers need to purchase a ticket from one of the Toto booths that are nearby where they live. You don’t need to be knowledgeable to bet in this way, and can select random picks if you wish.
Horse Racing
Horse racing is huge in Japan, with the Japan Racing Association being the governing body that oversees most of the action taking place in the country. Racing is huge in Japan, with tracks dotted all over the country. Right at the centre of the racing calendar is the Japan Cup, a race that offers huge prize money and one that attracts interest from all around the world not just in Japan. The race is held in November at the Tokyo Raceocurse and entries are by invitation only, showing just what a prestigious event this really is.
Elsewhere for other big races in Japan, make sure you look out for the Japanese Triple Crown, which is composed of Kikuka Sho, Satsuki Sho, and the Tokyo Yushun races.
Online Betting in Japan
Again, when it comes to online betting, it is fair to say that the rules surrounding this are a little vague in Japan. Residents of the country do sign up and play with online betting companies, and there are some of these that offer both Japanese as a language on their sites and Japanese Yen as a currency that you can pay with, so these are set up to accept Japanese customers.
According to newbettingsites.uk there are many bookmakers available that offer betting on Japanese events such as the J-League and Japan’s biggest horse races, offering those who wish to place bets the chance to do so.
This site also covers the welcome bonuses that are available with the bookmakers, so not only can you place bets on the big events in Japan, but you can also take advantage of a welcome offer to get your account off to the best possible start.
With online betting growing all over the world, bookmakers who offer an online service are all competing to offer the best and most in depth service possible to their customers, so it would be no surprise to see many more Japanese events and sports covered in the near future.
