Bloomberg: laws against Yakuza have become an obstacle for esports in Japan
Laws against gambling activities of Japanese organized crime hinder the development of the esports competition industry in the Land of the Rising Sun.
This is stated in the investigation of the business publication Bloomberg.
According to Bloomberg, Japanese legislation strictly prohibits gambling competitions with cash prizes and bets.
Restrictions were introduced in the 1980s of the last century to combat the Yakuza, who organized gaming halls with video poker.
The laws also limit the size of prize funds and prohibit them from being formed from funds received from ticket sales, as Valve and other developers do.
This has led to the fact that Japan is poorly represented in the international esports arena, unlike neighboring South Korea.
Another deterrent is the public lobby, which believes that video games harm the studies and normal lifestyle of young Japanese.
At the same time, Japan is one of the first countries where video game competitions were broadcast on national television back in the mid—1980s.
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