Japan Contemplates Expansion of Online Lottery in a Bid to Boost Sales

An expansion in the sales of online lottery is on the cards for Japan as the local government imposes fresh restrictions and regulations on all other types of gambling in the country. As reported by Yomiuri Shimbun, the Internal Affairs and Communication Ministry in Japan has been mulling over plans for granting an approval to all kinds of permissible lottery games to be made available online.

According to the claims made by the report, the revised legislation will come into effect only in next fiscal year in 2018. Back in January 2014, the Japanese government had introduced certain reforms in the online lottery industry and imposed stricter regulations for the sale of number selection products. Over a two period span, nearly 40% of all kinds of lottery products were made available for sale on the internet. However, according to statistics, the online lottery sales accounted for a mere 3.6% of the total number of lottery sales made in 2016. As of now, there are a total of five independent banking institutions in Japan that are associated with regulating all online lottery sales in the country.

Given the fact that lottery sales figures have declined ever since the market hit its peak in 2005 with gross revenues of 1.1 t Japanese Yen down to only 845.2 b Japanese Yen in 2016, the local municipalities are facing quite a major economical setback. The communities receive 40% of the lottery revenues and the low sales figures have made it difficult for them to fund municipal projects such as programs for the senior citizens, improvements of parks and preparations for disaster management.

Some of the traditional channels where lottery tickets are available for gaming include automated teller machines and authorized outlets for distribution. However, given a decline in the number of retail lottery distribution outlets in the region, the local municipalities are facing a major financial crunch.

As deduced by the National Autonomous Lottery Council, by introducing online lottery system across the country, it will be easier for the government to revive the degraded market sales and ensure the sustenance of local lottery operators as well.

The revised legislation comes in a time when Japan is getting prepared for the highly anticipated legalization of the land based integrated resorts, and the government has imposed strict restrictions on the activity of online race betting.