Report G3 UPDATE - JAPAN ONLINE GAMING
Boris Chaikin, CEO, Soft2Bet
LIVE CASINO – ALFCASINO ENTERS JAPANESE MARKET
Soft2Bet has gone live in Japan for the first time with the launch of its AlfCasino brand. What opportunity do you see in the market?
Japan is the first market we have entered in Asia and we have big expectations and plans for the continent. We are treading with caution initially, as we realise that Asia is a whole new universe for us. Nevertheless, we are building the resources for expansion and once we are more established in Japan, we’ll look to other Asian markets currently on our radar.
Tere is a lot of excitement amongst operators and suppliers about Japan. How do you foresee the market developing?
We believe the key to success is in a localised approach for each market – we have enough experience behind us to know that the one-size- fits-all approach is not best practice, especially when offering products to different cultures. Japan is very promising and has huge growth potential, as long as you realise that the market needs to be tackled in its own specific way.
Dafabet.com offers online casino games, virtual sports and sports betting all in Japanese. William Hill offers its services in Japanese and includes bets on the Japanese Pro Basketball League. 10bet Japan offers full Japanese language support.
Sportsbet.io offers a Japanese language option.
www.sbobet.com also offers sports betting in Japanese. A great many online bookmakers also offer online casino and slots. However none have a specific focus on the local sports betting market.
ESPORTS
Surprisingly, Japan is lagging behind when it comes to esports teams. Laws meant to police organised crime and gambling prevent paid gaming competitions, whether at internet cafes or at stadiums, meaning that there is little incentive for professional esports teams. In Japan the idea of gaming as a spectator sport has only recently started to become popular. With 67.6m total players, the Japanese gaming market remains the third largest in the world, but most games associated with esports such as League of Legends , Dota 2 are not popular in Japan. However, the government is looking at
ways to strengthen the industry alongside the Japan esports Union (JeSU).
ADVERTISING
Tere are no specific regulations under Japanese law for the advertising of online gaming services. However, the 2004 Guidelines on Advertising on the Internet issued by the Japan Internet Advertising Association rules that members must not advertise online gambling services offered by offshore online gaming operators to those living in Japan. Crucially under the terms of Japan’s new act for integrated resorts and casinos all advertisements for casinos will only be permitted in international terminals of the country’s airports and seaports.
Wider restriction on advertising offshore sites mean that online gambling has a very low profile in the media. Tis means that players need to actively seek out the best promotions and gambling sites online. Tere are a number of guides which already supply players with information for players seeking to gamble online.
How do you localise your live casino and table games for the Japanese player?
Te Asian market is such a new market that its differences provide both fascinating opportunities but equally a bespoke set of challenges. Of course, we always aim to adapt our offering to local tastes. For this, we use local consultants and a substantial amount of in-depth research. Tat combination of understanding as much as you can about the region’s gaming landscape alongside knowing your limitations and when to outsource expertise is a formidable attribute - one we have acquired after continually expanding in diverse markets.
What are your expansion plans in Japan?
AlfCasino is a pilot project for us in Japan, however we are already planning to launch localised versions of several other brands from our existing portfolio, as well as new brands built especially with the Japanese market in mind. Te markets potential of the Japanese market, and the Asian market as a whole, are incredibly exciting and an area in which we have big plans to expand our influence with the development of innovative new products.
NEWSWIRE / INTERACTIVE / MARKET DATA P85
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