Residents in Japan placed an estimated ¥6.45 trillion ($44 billion) in bets last year on overseas sports gambling websites — which are illegal in Japan — including around ¥1 trillion wagered on domestic sporting events, according to a sports organization report.
Tokyo-based nonprofit Council for Sports Ecosystem Promotion, which released the report on Wednesday, said the size of the illegal cross-border market has grown significantly in recent years.
The findings, based on data from overseas market research firms and licensed betting operators in jurisdictions where sports gambling is legal, comes after two baseball players were sent to prosecutors earlier this month for allegedly placing bets from Japan using overseas sports gambling sites.
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