Japan's Direction in Addressing Illegal Sports Gambling and the ¥5 Trillion Free Ride Market

In recent years, while the sports-betting markets of various countries have rapidly developed, the scale of the illegal cross-border market, formed by residents of Japan using the Internet to access services from global sports betting operators, has been expanding. Among these operators, there are those who engage in rights violations, such as unauthorized use of match footage, sports organizations’ logos, and player images, making it urgent to address these infringing entities. The issue of dealing with illegal sports betting operators has become a major international concern, leading the Council of Europe to establish the Macolin Convention, a treaty to prevent manipulation and corruption in sports competitions, which came into force in 2019. Signatories to the convention form an international cooperation framework known as the "Copenhagen Group," and efforts are being made to address these issues globally.
Additionally, the sports-betting market targeting Japanese sports (known as the "free-ride market") has been expanding worldwide, with annual betting amounts estimated at around ¥5 trillion. Japanese sports receive very little revenue from this market. This issue is not limited to Japan; sports organizations in other nations leading in the sports world also face challenges in dealing with similar free-ride market-related issues.
In this seminar, we will focus on measures against illegal sports gambling and the free-ride market in different countries. We will invite guest speakers from the Council of Europe, which brought the Macolin Convention into force, FIBA (the International Basketball Federation), and other organizations to discuss the current state of illegal sports gambling and free-ride countermeasures in Europe and the United States.
Additionally, Hironori Inagaki, a leading partner in sports-related legal practice, will provide an analysis of the current situation of Japan and the direction it should pursue.

Program

14:00	International Trends in Combatting Illegal Sports Betting and Legal Issues Related to Countermeasures against the 5-Trillion Yen Free-Ride Market Hironori Inagaki (Partner, Nishimura & Asahi (Gaikokuho Kyodo Jigyo)) Kaori Hirose (Counsel, Nishimura & Asahi (Gaikokuho Kyodo Jigyo))
14:30	The Macolin Convention an Essential Tool in Combatting Sports Competitions Manipulation and Illegal Betting Head of the Council of Europe Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions, Nicolas Saydé
15:05	Coffee break
15:15	Navigating the Global Sports Betting Landscape: Regulatory Challenges and the Fight against Illegal Gambling Managing Director, CK Consulting, Christian Kal
15:50	Coffee break
15:55	FIBA's Efforts to Counter Competition Manipulation Senior Legal Affairs Manager, Fédération Internationale de Basketball (FIBA), Benjamin Schindler
16:30	Close

Speakers

Hironori INAGAKI

Partner
Tokyo

+81-3-6250-6624

He understands and solves his client’s essential needs and challenges by leveraging his extensive domestic and international connections in the sports and entertainment field as well as his experience gained during secondment to the business side of a domestic sports management company.
He has assisted numerous companies in the area of Sports Digital Transformation (data business, sports betting, fantasy sports, NFT, sports tokens) and is experienced in cases involving a wide range of legal issues at the intersection of sports and technology. He is also the
Representative Director of the Council for Sports Ecosystem Promotion, an industry organization that aims to industrialize sports using digital transformation, etc., and is well versed in the latest trends and issues in the industry both domestically and internationally.
He was also selected as a finalist for Young Lawyer of the Year (Law Firm) in the ALB Japan Law Awards 2024, sponsored by Asian Legal Business (ALB) and Thomson Reuters.

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Kaori HIROSE

Counsel
Tokyo

+81-3-6250-6640

Kaori Hirose primarily specializes in corporate crisis management and compliance-related matters and has particular expertise on global compliance cases.
In that area, she regularly counsels clients on a wide variety of legal issues, including bribery to foreign officials (FCPA), cartels, and other compliance matters involving antitrust laws, as well as product quality/inspection fraud and environmental regulation violations. She provides comprehensive advice throughout the entirety of a corporate crisis, starting from occurrence of the crisis, through internal investigation, to the establishment of preventive measures. She collaborates with local counsel in other countries to support clients in regard to both internal investigations and those by governmental authorities, and also advises global companies on the development of compliance systems and internal rules, etc. under normal corporate operating conditions.
Furthermore, by leveraging the experience she obtained through her secondment to law firms in Latin America, she provides support and legal advice on compliance and general corporate matters to clients that conduct business in Latin American countries.

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