ICE365_ESPORTSREPORT_JULY2021 | Page 12

HOTEL WITH A DIFFERENCE

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Asia : A grey market to behold State of play : Esports betting report 2021

JAPAN

EARLIER THIS year , gaming research firm Famitsu said that Japan ’ s esports market grew by 9 % in 2020 , driven by sponsorship and advertising fees , and is set to see further growth over the next few years .
The country ’ s esports market was valued at $ 56m , driven by a 42 % rise in the number of esports fans , which reached around 6.9 million people .
Famitsu said the country ’ s esports market revenue is expected to be worth $ 141m in 2023 , driven by greater use of 5G services and more game providers entering the market .
In 2018 , it was estimated there were 67.6 million gamers in Japan ( around half of the population ), the majority of whom played mobile games .
However , the esports industry in Japan has been suffering from severely stunted growth , due mainly to decadesold anti-gambling laws , which has also restricted the growth of esports tournaments , due to a section of the law that prohibited very large prize pools .
The Act Against Unjustifiable Premiums and Misleading Representations , passed on 15 May
1962 , was initially aimed at protecting Japanese citizens from the effects of widespread gambling . However , the current interpretation of the law caused esports tournaments to fall within the confines of “ inducement of customers by means of unjustifiable premiums ”,
which essentially put players competing in a tournament for a prize in the same boat as a person betting on a roulette wheel , which is illegal in Japan .
The outcome of this outdated law is that players were not able to win any significant-sized prize pools . Similarly ,
HOTEL WITH A DIFFERENCE
The country is home to the world ’ s first esports hotel . Opened in April 2020 , the eight-storey e-ZONe Denno Kukan in Osaka ( left ) has three floors that are used as a massive esports gaming area , fitted with 70 high-spec PCs and live streaming equipment . The hotel is primarily aimed at travellers who want to dip their toe in the esports space or any esports competitors in town for a tournament who want to continue practising .
State of play : Esports betting report 2021