Powerboat Races are One of Japan’s Most Loved Form of Gambling
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Only beaten by horse race gambling, gambling at powerboat races is one of the most popular forms of gambling in Japan. We give you the story behind the major success of Japanese boat racing.
Even though it might not be insanely popular in all places of the world, the Japanese people love the powerboat races, and it is closely connected to the gambling industry. The excitement of the fast boats and intensified drama of a basic choice in life: Who will win, who will lose?
Gambling is illegal in Japan, but multiple laws ignoring the country’s moral prescriptions have allowed gambling in multiple forms in Japan.
In general, gambling got legalized in Japan in the years after the Second World War. The country needed to be rebuilt after the war and the gambling revenues were aimed as a finance source.
Therefore, a national lottery was introduced in 1948, and the same year betting on horse races and cycling was legalized.
Popular kyōtei-races
Powerboat gambling was legalized in 1951. It was aimed at raising money for both motorboat development and other parts of the shipbuilding industry. It was an important element in strengthening the regional finances in Japan, and quickly the so-called kyōtei-races got very popular.
The racers are educated at the Yamato Boat Racing School that will give the racers a registration number. This number is their access ticket to the exciting, breath-taking races.
This is a good example of how well controlled the whole system is by the Japan Motorboat Racing Association (JMRA). No races or no sports booking is happening outside of the JMRA-system. This has ensured that the gambling revenue will generate tax revenue for the local authorities, who are often organizing the powerboat races.
Other kinds of gambling in Japan
But this is only one part of the Japanese gambling industry. You will both find sports betting, lotteries, and casinos in Japan. Four kinds of sports are allowed for gambling: horseraces, cycling, asphalt speedway motorcycle racing, and of course powerboat racing.
In 2018 the Japanese government permitted three casinos to open under some restrictions: one in Osaka, one in Yokohama, and one in Tokyo. The casinos have a limit to how often Japanese people can visit them. Only 3 times per week or 10 times per month are you allowed to visit the three casinos, and each time you will pay 6,000 yen in the entrance fee.
Maybe this article has made you curious about gambling? Then you can try some online gambling, that will prepare you to go to one of the physical casinos or powerboat racing arenas.
Through an online casino guide, you can find the best, licensed casinos. They are rated, so you can be sure that you will find only the best gambling places with the best bonuses or free spins for the slot machines.
The gambling guides also contain core information about online gambling, the most popular games, and different news about online gambling.
