Gambling industry and the latest trends in Japan: Vera&John as a leading player

gambling trends in japan

Japan is a global leader in gaming technology, one of the earliest markets for gaming, and home to some of the world’s biggest brands. Today, it boasts the third-largest market worldwide behind China and the US. It is undeniable that gaming plays a special role in Japan. Not only does it contribute to the country’s economy, but it also shapes its culture. As such, the average person spends a considerable amount of time playing mobile and online games. What’s more, the average revenue per unit is $177.

Market traffic dynamic

(source: https://www.semrush.com/trending-websites/jp/gambling)

Gambling is currently trending upwards and is expected to grow even higher in October 2022. Despite Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s promises to crack down on the use of online casinos, he has reiterated that they remain a “gambling crime” and insists illegal organizations will not be tolerated.

Gambling industry and the latest trends in Japan

The active pachinko player population has been in decline for years, even before the COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, attendance rates at live sports betting events have shrunk as well. To make up for lost venue visitors, the sports betting industry is going digital–using innovative technologies to give consumers flexible and enjoyable user experiences.

The Japanese market was recently added to Google’s list of countries where gambling apps will now be available on the Google Play Store as of March 1st, 2021. This change caused quite a stir in the international online gaming industry, but it only applies to government-regulated gambling.

The improvement of fast speed browsing and 5G has made it more comfortable and fun for the population of at least 93 million mobile internet users. Smartphones have become a convenient way to play games, as they are cheaper than other alternatives and their portability means that users can play wherever they are. In addition, the availability of innumerable free mobile games has attracted even more players

Since 2014, the number of online casinos had increased from around 100 to nearly 500 in 2020. In Japan, there are an estimated 2 million users of online casinos which is seen as high considering that 5.06 million people bet on horse racing online, 3.29 million on keirin and 1.17 million on boat racing according to Issei Yamagishi’s estimates.

Immensely popular, motorboat racing is the only gambling domain that generates sales of gambling tickets in excess of one trillion Japanese yen. Bicycle racing and NAR-administered horse racing sales have increased appreciably in recent years and are nearing the one trillion-yen mark.

Leader board in the gambling industry in Japan.

Vera&John is the undisputed leader of gambling-related websites in Japan in terms of number of visitors, as shown by the search trend statistic above from SemRush. With more than 14.5 million visits per month, it significantly outpaces its closest competitors takarakujinet.co.jp (2.71 million visits per month), sportybet.com (1 .36 million visits), and casinosecret.com( 731,340 visits). Despite a recent drop in traffic of 50% or more, Vera & John remains far ahead of the competition.  Achieved remarkable growth by grasping the changing times within the gambling industry and always administering towards the desires of the online casino players. In 2019 Vera & John (ベラジョンカジノ ) increased its revenue by a remarkable 14% through several clever online marketing campaigns introducing the land basedcasino players to online based casino games such as slot machines.Top Gambling Industry websites in Japan by traffic

                                              (source: https://www.semrush.com/trending-websites/jp/gambling)

The Vera&John casino is a popular online gambling destination that has seen success in part due to its unique blend of games and promotions, wide variety of promotions and high level of the cyber security. This combination has helped Vera&John become one of the most popular online casinos.

Although gambling in Japan was legalized in 2013, it remains limited to the Toto company. There is no legal framework against gambling, however Japanese gamers have found other ways to play online with licenced casinos approved by international gambling authorities.

The government of Japan is discouraging its citizens from using foreign online bookmakers. However, since there is no legal framework in place prohibiting it, many people still take part. The Japan Casino Regulatory Commission has promised to re-evaluate its screening standards and noted that it will take the public’s opinion into consideration in regards the opportunity issuing casino licenses.