Best Betting Sites in Japan for 2025

Baseball has been in Japan almost as long as it has been in the United States, and is clearly the most popular sport in the country, both in terms of spectators and participation. Baseball betting is a massive draw at betting sites in Japan, with an emphasis on the following competitions:

• Nippon Professional Baseball: the NPB was established in the 1920s and is the top level of professional baseball in Japan, drawing attention even in other parts of the world. Top teams include the 22-time champion Yomiuri Giants, the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, and the Orix Buffaloes.
• Major League Baseball: The biggest and best baseball league in the world, MLB teams have a huge following in Japan – especially when they feature top Japanese stars. Legends like Shohei Ohtani, Ichiro Suzuki, and Hideo Nomo have been among the best Japanese players to compete and succeed in MLB competition.
• World Baseball Classic: This competition – now held every three years – pits professional players from top baseball nations against each other in a worldwide tournament. It’s a tournament Japan takes very seriously, having won three times and having medaled in each of the first five editions of the WBC.

Football has become one of the most important sports in Japan, with a huge number of fans and a highly successful national program for the sport. Football betting can go on all year long, with particular interest on these competitions:

• J.League: Considered by many to be the most important football league in Asia, the J.League – including the top flight J1 division – is a big betting draw in Japan. Top clubs in recent years include Vissel Kobe, Kashima Antlers, and Kawasaki Frontale.
• FIFA World Cup: The world’s biggest football tournament is a huge draw for bettors in Japan, just as it is in nearly every place on Earth. Japan has reached the Round of 16 on several occasions, and its women’s team won the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2011. 
• English Premier League: The EPL is the domestic league with the most worldwide reach, and has a strong fanbase in Japan as well. Bettors can place their wagers on top clubs like Arsenal, Man City, Liverpool, and Chelsea from August through May each year. 

You might not think of Japan as a traditional basketball powerhouse, but Japanese students have been playing the game for over a century, and the sport has a growing fan base at the professional level in recent years. Basketball betting can be enjoyed on a number of competitions, such as:

• National Basketball Association: North America’s NBA is the biggest and highest level basketball league in the world, and has fans in all corners of the globe. Player like Rui Hachimura and Yuta Watanabe have shown that Japanese players can succeed in the NBA, even if the country still produces relatively little top-tier talent.
• B.League: The B.League is the top men’s professional basketball league in Japan, and has held that distinction since 2016. Some of the most successful clubs in the early history of the league have been the Ryukyu Golden Kings and the Utsunomiya Brex.
• Summer Olympics: Basketball fans the world over watch the Summer Games to see professionals suit up for their national teams in the quest for medals. Japan’s men’s team has never finished higher than 9^th overall, though its women’s squad won silver in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Many other sports have popularity here, though they don’t necessarily compete with the ones listed above for overall visibility at betting sites in Japan. Some examples include:

• Sumo: Sumo wrestling is the national sport of Japan, and athletes are venerated for their performances in major tournaments. While sumo betting isn’t especially common at online bookmakers, it will occasionally show up at sites targeting Japanese users.
• Golf: Golf is a major spectator sport in Japan, and golf betting on majors and other significant tournaments is quite popular. Top Japanese golfers have included Hideki Matsuyama, Ryo Ishikawa, and Japan Golf Tour legend Masashi “Jumbo” Ozaki.
• Martial Arts: A variety of martial arts – from traditional pastimes to MMA – are popular in Japan. Of particular note is Japan’s dominance of Olympic judo, where Japanese athletes have captured 51 of a possible 167 all-time gold medals in the sport’s history.

Credit card betting sites in Japan accept Visa and Mastercard as much as in other countries. However, they also frequently accept JCB cards, as this is one of the top cards in the Japanese market.

Working inside the general Rakuten ecosystem, which allows users to get cashback for online purchases, Rakuten Pay is a mobile payment service that allows for payments to be made via QR codes.

Another mobile payment app, PayPay is extremely popular among the Japanese populace. Like Rakuten Pay, users can access a smartphone app, link their bank account, and then use QR codes or barcodes to make payments.

Many users find it convenient to simply transfer money directly from their bank accounts to online betting sites, and these options also allow for simple withdrawals of winnings, too.

Bitcoin betting sites (as well as those accepting Ethereum and other currencies) are growing in popularity as a way to get around restrictions on gambling transactions at offshore sites.