Inside Asian Gaming

IAG APR 2021年4月 亞博匯 88 JAPAN The opportunity seems evenmore compelling when you consider the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and recent natural disasters, which promise to pose many more challenges for Japan in the future. NECESSITY Like many other jurisdictions around the world, Japan’s professional sporting leagues were last year postponed and then forced to return without spectators due to the pandemic. Yet sports betting stands as a potential savior should a similar scenario arise again. While the pachinko and pachislot industry faces increasing headwinds over its long-termviability, online betting has no such concerns: betting on horse racing last year totaled JPY2.9 trillion (US$26.5 billion), representing a 3.5% increase over 2019 sales. You can’t stop times from changing, says Professor Kobayashi. “Like it or not, digital transformation can’t be stopped, even in the sports industry,” he explains. “Cyber space is borderless and without the natural ocean as a fortress, Japan can no longer pretend to be unaffected by the rest of the world’s changing tides. “For example, if you subscribe to Major League Baseball’s online service, you can stream all games and enjoy highlights in your own time. We’re living in an age where the consumer can select products from anywhere in the world. So there is an opportunity