Home - News ( United States | United Kingdom | Italy | Germany ) - Football scores

Showing content from https://doi.org/10.1007/s40318-021-00198-8 below:

Fantasy sports and gambling regulation in the Asia-Pacific

Fantasy sports competitions allow sports fans to become their own managers, to select and organize fantasy teams from existing real-life players in professional sports leagues. The performance of their fantasy teams is dependent on the actual on the field performance of these real-life players. As betting in professional sports is strictly regulated worldwide, fantasy sports offer a form of proxy sports bet. However, a gray area exists whether fantasy sports competitions involve chance (or luck) rather than pure team selection skills. If any form of chance is involved, fantasy sports will be subject to gambling laws and thus may be deemed illegal. With the US Supreme court recently clearing the way for legality of fantasy sports in its largest market, the focus shifts to the industry’s major growth market—Asia-Pacific. This paper reviews the state of fantasy sports and gambling regulation in the Asia-Pacific region. A 21-country analysis is undertaken, offering five insights for fantasy sports industry stakeholders. Based on our findings, we propose a Nevada-model regulatory framework for the Asia-Pacific fantasy sports market.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Springer+ Basic

€34.99 /Month

• Get 10 units per month
• Download Article/Chapter or eBook
• 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
• Cancel anytime

Price includes VAT (Germany)

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

All data have been referenced (footnotes) and publicly available

1. Pickering, Blaszczynski, Hartmann, and Keen 2016.

2. PASPA Act “grandfathered” existing sports betting for the states of Nevada, Montana, Delaware and New Jersey.

3. This should be qualified as there have been recent decisions by US courts that have reignited the uncertainty. In White v. Cuomo (181 A.D.3d 76 (N.Y. App. Div. 2020)). A New York Appellate Court ruled that daily fantasy sports was gambling despite New York legislators having amended the existing law after Murphy v NCAA to exempt fantasy sport from gambling laws. In contrast in a recent Illinois Supreme Court case (Dew-Becker, 2020 IL 124472 25), it was ruled that daily fantasy sports is determined purely on skill. Clearly, the state-by-state legislation in America on sports betting will see further such conflicting verdicts for fantasy sports.

4. Murphy v NCAA (2008).

5. As of November 1, 2020, 20 of 50 or 40% of US states have legalized sports betting https://www.espn.com/chalk/story/_/id/19740480/the-united-states-sports-betting-where-all-50-states-stand-legalization.

6. DraftKings (2020) Analyst Day Presentation March 2020 https://draftkings.gcs-web.com/static-files/f973bec8-59cb-43d5-9681-676566ea5c6e.

7. Ibid.

8. AFP, Global Sports Gambling worth up to 3 trillion, Daily Mail Australia (online), 16 April 2015,http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-3040540/Global-sports-gambling-worth-3-trillion.html. Accessed 15 September 2020.

9. Allied Analytics LLP Fantasy Sports Market Expected To Reach USD48.6 billion by 2027 https://www.einnews.com/pr_news/527803935/fantasy-sports-market-expected-to-reach-48-6-billion-by-2027-allied-market-research Accessed 15 September, 2020.

10. Scott 2016.

11. Standen 2016.

12. Axson S, DraftKings entering sports betting market after Supreme Court decision, Sports Illustrated (online), 14 May 2018, https://www.si.com/more-sports/2018/05/14/draft-kings-betting-supreme-court-decision Accessed 16 September, 2020.

13. Harris 2020.

14. Ha K, Hong J & Calonzo A, The $24 billion online casino boom China is struggling to halt, Bloomberg (online), 12 September 2019, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-09-11/the-24-billion-online-casino-boom-china-is-struggling-to-halt Accessed 1 October 2020.

15. The Economist, The Chinese state manages the world’s second biggest lottery industry, The Economist (online), 31 August 2019, https://www.economist.com/china/2019/08/29/the-chinese-state-manages-the-worlds-second-biggest-lottery-industry Accessed 1 October 2020.

16. Rick A,World’s Second Largest Lottery—In China—is set to become even bigger, FORBES (online), 30 May 2018, https://www.forbes.com/sites/augustrick/2018/05/30/the-worlds-second-largest-lottery-in-china-is-set-to-become-even-bigger/?sh=69a521a46355 Accessed 1 October 2020.

17. Hong Kong Gambling Laws, OnlineBetting.com, https://www.onlinebetting.com/legal/hong-kong/ . Accessed 25 September 2020.

18. BBC, Stanley Ho, Hong Kong’s “king of gambling” dies aged 98, BBC (online), 26 May 2020, https://www.bbc.com/news/business-52803396 Accessed 10 October 2020.

19. Sito P, Li P and Liu Y (2020) Stanley Ho patriarch of Asia largest casino empire and the “King of Gambling” for more than half a century dies at 98, South China Morning Post (online), 26 May 2020 https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2182745/stanley-ho-patriarch-asias-largest-casino-empire-and-king Accessed 10 October,2020.

20. Zabielskis 2015.

21. Yasko N , Japanese Gambling, https://www.japanvisitor.com/japanese-culture/cult-japan-gambling Accessed 10 October 2020.

22. Hiro K (2020)Gambling in Japan: 7 Best Ways to Gamble without a casino, JW Magazine (online), 20 Jan 2020, https://jw-webmagazine.com/gambling-in-japan-best-ways-to-gamble-without-casino/ Accessed 10 October 2020.

23. Lewis L, Odds are against pachinko staying clear of gambling rules: Inside Business Asia. Financial Times (online), 13 December 2017. https://www.ft.com/content/1a273dd6-df41-11e7-a8a4-0a1e63a52f9c. Accessed 10 October 2020.

24. Yamamoto T (2019) Fantasy sports gaining Japan foothold with basketball the first step, IAG https://www.asgam.com/index.php/2019/05/03/fantasy-sports-gaining-japan-foothold-with-basketball-the-first-step/.

25. Soble, J., & Gough, N. (2016). Japan, envisioning billions in revenue, removes ban on casino gambling. New York Times (online) Retrieved from https://library.umaine.edu/auth/EZproxy/test/authej.asp?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/2310050925?accountid=14583 Accessed 10 October 2020.

26. Sugiura E (2018) Five things to know about Japan’s new casino law, Nikkei (online) https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Business-trends/Five-things-to-know-about-Japan-s-new-casino-law2 Accessed 10 October 2020.

27. McCartney 2016.

28. Hernandez-Diaz 2020.

29. Lewis, L. (2018). Japan's Abe poised to raise stakes in casinos gambit: Travel & leisure coalition parties to review gambling law after years of corporate lobbying [asia region]. Financial Times (online), Retrieved from https://library.umaine.edu/auth/EZproxy/test/authej.asp?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/2023843667?accountid=14583 Accessed 10 October 2020.

30. https://www.hapskorea.com/south-koreas-complex-relationship-with-gambling/ Accessed 15 September 2020.

31. Ibid.

32. http://www.ktoto.co.kr/en/s2_binfo/binfo01.html Accessed 15 September 2020.

33. Ibid.

34. Kalra J, South Korean Soccer League tokenizes players for fantasy football game, Yahoo (online), 18 June 2020. https://uk.news.yahoo.com/south-korean-soccer-league-tokenizes-000000701.html?guce_referrer=ahr0chm6ly93d3cuz29vz2xllmnvbs8&guce_referrer_sig=aqaaaf_mn2og3ss4ujq3tifvudr-i93o4q_wkuoigoo4u-rpc2lkj9ylq5rcrbyehpqhl4ac-hkjzncrxz4yrtcj2ifpzvdnrf1q1fonhmcanpdtrn-5r-fkxey9uylkesxejqx8maeac5bzwkbg4bq9f0qr5keaid6f8iuwsspwa-xt Accessed 10 October 2020.

35. O’Connor D (2020) North Korea casino, ski resorts, tourism goals tumble, climate change to blame, casino.org, https://www.casino.org/news/north-korea-casino-ski-resorts-tourism-goals-tumble/ Accessed 11 October 2020.

36. Zhang 2017.

37. Straits Times, Singapore considers tightening casino rules for customers, Straits Times (online),20 July 2020. https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/singapore-considers-tightening-casino-rules-for-customers , Accessed 5 June 2021.

38. Parliament of Singapore, Remote Gambling Act Singapore, https://www.parliament.gov.sg/sites/default/files/Remote%20Gambling%20Bill%2023-2014.pdf. Accessed 15 October 2020.

39. Cheong D and Lin M, Online betting to be allowed in next two months via Singapore Pools and Singapore Turf Club’, Straits Times (online), 29 September 2016,, http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/online-betting-to-be-allowed-in-next-two-months-via-singapore-pools-singapore-turf-club Accessed 15 October 2020.

40. Vijayan K C, Jail Inappropriate for first time remote gaming offence: Courts, Straits Times (online) 25 November 2019, https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/jail-inappropriate-for-first-time-remote-gambling-offence-court Accessed 9 June 2021.

41. https://www.casinonewsdaily.com/2020/09/24/singapore-confirms-2021-establishment-of-new-gambling-regulator/ Accessed 5 June 2020.

42. 39% of Malaysia’s population is non-Muslim, See https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/malaysia/ .Accessed 9 June 2021.

43. Genting Group profile https://www.genting.com/history-2/ Accessed 9 June 2021.

44. https://www.malayan-racing.com Accessed 9 June 2021.

    Horse racing was a legacy of the British who colonized Malaysia (or Malaya at that time). Horse racing in Malaysia began in 1802.

45. Lim J, Number forecast operators’ close outlets in MCO areas. The Edge (online), 13 January 2021. https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/numbers-forecast-operators-close-outlets-mco-areas Accessed 9 June 2021.

46. Chua E, Current gambling laws lack bite, The Star (online), 29 Oct 2020, https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2020/10/29/current-gambling-laws-lack-bite Accessed 1 June 2021.

47. Cohen M, How Vietnam is Changing its gambling rules to win foreign investment, FORBES (online), 9 Feb 2017, https://www.forbes.com/sites/muhammadcohen/2017/02/09/how-vietnam-is-changing-its-gambling-rules-to-win-foreign-investment/?sh=98e8b630e7aa Accessed 15 October 2020.

48. Das K (2018) Vietnam Legalizes Sports Betting, Vietnam Briefing (online), 20 June 2018. https://www.vietnam-briefing.com/news/vietnam-legalizes-sports-betting.html/. Accessed 12 October 2020.

49. Yamada 2017.

50. Strangio S, Cambodia passes law to regulate exploding gambling sector, The Diplomat (online), 7 October 2020, https://thediplomat.com/2020/10/cambodia-passes-law-to-regulate-exploding-gambling-sector/ Accessed 15 October 2020.

51. Thul PC, Thousands lose jobs, casinos shut as Cambodia bans online gambling , Reuters (online), 31 December 2019, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cambodia-gambling/thousands-lose-jobs-casinos-shut-as-cambodia-bans-online-gambling-idUSKBN1YZ0O3 Accessed 15 October 2020.

52. Sims 2017.

53. Silverstien E (2019) Laos looks to increase levies on gaming as national economic conditions marginally improve, Casino.org, 26 June 2019. https://www.casino.org/news/laos-looks-to-increase-levies-on-gaming-as-nations-economic-conditions-marginally-improve/ Accessed 18 October 2020.

54. Stokke and Aung 2020.

55. Aung 2020.

56. Bünte 2021.

57. Nitta Y, Myanmar to probe casinos in China backed developers rogue city, Nikkei Asia(online), 12 August 2020. ,https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Belt-and-Road/Myanmar-to-probe-casinos-in-China-backed-developer-s-rogue-city Accessed 15 October 2020.

58. Ibid.

59. Alegado S and Calonzo A, Pandemic threatens to burst Philippines online gaming bubble, Bloomberg (online), 17 July 2020. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-16/pandemic-threatens-to-burst-philippines-online-gaming-bubble Accessed 15 October 2020.

60. O’Connor D, Casino.org, 29 April 2020, https://www.casino.org/news/philippines-casino-revenue-drops-50-percent/ Accessed 1 June 2020.

61. Venzon C, Philippines bets on online casino, e-cockfights, as Chinese flee, Nikkei Asia (online), 8 December 2020, https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Media-Entertainment/Philippines-bets-on-online-casinos-e-cockfights-as-Chinese-flee Accessed 5 June 2021.

62. The Star, RGB Shelves Plan to enter Timor Leste Gaming History, The Star (online), 25 July 2015. https://www.thestar.com.my/Business/Business-News/2015/07/25/RGB-shelves-plan-to-enter-TimorLeste-gaming-industry.

63. https://timorplaza.com/stores/golden-sands-casino Accessed 15 October 2020.

64. Papua New Guinea passed a Gaming Control Act in 2007 which can grant casino licenses but there are no casinos in operation as of 2020.

65. https://sportnz.org.nz/media/2744/regulatory-impact-statement-sport-nz-sports-betting-apportionment-formula.pdf Accessed 15 October 2020.

66. Towle M, New Zealanders are pouring money into online gambling, The Stuff (online), 20 August 2019, https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/115129052/new-zealanders-are-pouring-money-into-online-gambling Accessed 15 October 2020.

67. https://www.dia.govt.nz/diawebsite.nsf/wpg_URL/Services-Casino-and-Non-Casino-Gaming-Remote-Interactive-Gambling-and-the-Gambling-Act-2003?OpenDocument Accessed 18 October 2020.

68. https://www.legislation.govt.nz/regulation/public/2013/0392/latest/DLM5618506.html?search=ts_act%40bill%40regulation%40deemedreg_gambling_resel_25_a&p=1 Accessed 9 June 2021.

69. https://www.dia.govt.nz/diawebsite.nsf/Files/GamblingFactSheets-18Nov2015/$file/FactSheet28-Oct2015.pdf Accessed 18 October 2020.

70. Baidawi A (2018) Australians are the world’s biggest gambling losers and some seek action, New York Times (online), 4 April 2018. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/04/world/australia/australians-gambling-betting-machines.html Accessed 15 October 2020.

71. There are six Australian states- Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania, Western Australia, Queensland, two major territories—Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory. Other territories include Norfolk Islands and Christmas Islands.

72. https://uk.practicallaw.thomsonreuters.com/w-022-4995?transitionType=Default&contextData=(sc.Default)&firstPage=true.

73. Betfair Pty Ltd and Anor v Western Australia (2008) 244 ALR 32.

74. Racing and Betting Act 1983 (Northern Territory).

75. Tony Boyd, Moneyball the new sporting fantasy, Australian Financial Review (online), 4 September 2015, http://www.afr.com/brand/chanticleer/moneyball-the-new-sporting-fantasy-20150904-gjfkw5. Accessed 15 October2020.

76. Das 2018.

77. See ASX announcement, TopBetta- Australia’s First Fantasy Wagering Business to List on ASX, (2015), http://om-corporate.mugbookie.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/TopBetta_Lists_on_ASX.pdf. Accessed October 5, 2020.

78. https://www.gtlaw.com.au/insights/regulation-fantasy-sports-australia-why-law-reform-required.

79. Indonesia is an archipelago of 13,000 islands.

80. Ry 2013.

81. https://consultations.health.gov.au/national-integrity-of-sport-unit/australian-sports-wagering-scheme-discussion-paper/supporting_documents/Australian%20Sports%20Wagering%20Scheme%20%20Discussion%20paper.pdf.

82. Asian Football Confederation,https://www.the-afc.com/competitions/afc-asian-cup/news/afc-asian-cup-uae-2019-fantasy-football-goes-live Accessed 18 October 2020.

83. UEFA https://gaming.uefa.com/en Accessed 16 October 2020.

84. Kihara T, Nakano T and Onishi T, China’s foreign casino ban risks snake eyes for Vietnam and rivals, Nikkei Asia (online), 7 September 2020. https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Travel-Leisure/China-s-foreign-casino-ban-risks-snake-eyes-for-Vietnam-and-rivals Accessed 18 October 2020.

85. Costa 2018.

86. Careem N, South China Morning Post (online), 16 Feb 2021. https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3121904/match-fixing-160-suspicious-matches-asia-2020-covid-19-allows Accessed 1 June 2021.

87. Casey, T, Fantasy sports trading platform Beryllium raises $3 million in pre-series A funding, FORBES (online), 3 June 2021, https://www.forbes.com/sites/timcasey/2021/06/03/fantasy-sports-trading-platform-beryllium-raises-3-million-in-pre-series-a-funding/?sh=15ac491d526e Accessed 13 June 2021.

88. https://uk.practicallaw.thomsonreuters.com/w-022-4995?transitionType=Default&contextData=(sc.Default)&firstPage=true.

• Aung A (2020) The International Politics of the Rohingya Crisis in Myanmar: China, Japan, and the United States. Kyoto Working Papers on Area Studies (134), 1-50.

• Bünte M (2021) Ruling but not governing: Tutelary Regimes and the Case of Myanmar. Government and Opposition, 1-17.

• Costa J (2018) The globalized network of a dirty game: match-fixing, illegal betting and transnational organized crime in Italian football. Global Crime 19(2):125–145

  Article  Google Scholar 

• Das M (2018) International regulation of fantasy sports: comparative legal analysis of United States, Australian, and Asian Laws. UNLV Gaming Law J 8(2):3

  Google Scholar 

• Harris B (2020) Regulated Sports Betting: A Nevada Perspective. UNLV Gaming LJ 10:75

  Google Scholar 

• Hernandez-Diaz H (2020) Gaming in Japan: combating the fears and concerns of the people. UNLV Gaming Law J 10(2):5

  Google Scholar 

• McCartney GJ (2016) Play the cards, roll the dice - the integration of casinos within Asian tourism destination development strategy. UNLV Gaming Res Rev J 20(2):1–21

  Google Scholar 

• Pickering D, Blaszczynski A, Hartmann M, Keen B (2016) Fantasy sports: skill, gambling, or are these irrelevant issues? Curr Addict Rep 3:307

  Article  Google Scholar 

• Ry KV (2013) Where Islam meets the West: a recommendation for the United Arab Emirates and Dubai in implementing casino-style gaming. UNLV Gaming Law J 4(1):6

  Google Scholar 

• Scott RA (2016) Updating your fantasy lineups and the federal law: the case for federal regulation of daily fantasy sports. Seton Hall L Rev 47:603

  Google Scholar 

• Sims K (2017) Gambling on the future: casino enclaves, development, and poverty alleviation in Laos. Pac Aff 90(4):675–699

  Article  Google Scholar 

• Standen J (2016) The special exemption for fantasy sports, 42 N. Ky L Rev 427(433):436

  Google Scholar 

• Stokke K, Aung SM (2020) Transition to democracy or hybrid regime? the dynamics and outcomes of democratization in Myanmar. Eur J Dev Res 32(2):274–293

  Article  Google Scholar 

• Yamada TS (2017) Phnom Penh’s NagaWorld resort and casino. Pac Aff 90(4):743–765

  Article  Google Scholar 

• Zabielskis P (2015) Too big to be bad? implications for theory and review of research on crimes, vices, and misdeeds in the casino culture of Macau. Crime Law Soc Chang 64(2–3):127–152

  Article  Google Scholar 

• Zhang J (2017) Introduction: integrated mega-casinos and speculative urbanism in southeast Asia. Pac Aff 90(4):651–674

  Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

There was no funding for this publication.

1. Maine Business School, University of Maine, Orono, USA

   Muralee Das

Correspondence to Muralee Das.

There is no conflicts of interest

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Das, M. Fantasy sports and gambling regulation in the Asia-Pacific. Int Sports Law J 21, 166–179 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40318-021-00198-8

Download citation

• Accepted: 05 August 2021

• Published: 21 August 2021

• Issue Date: September 2021

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40318-021-00198-8

RetroSearch is an open source project built by @garambo | Open a GitHub Issue

Search and Browse the WWW like it's 1997 | Search results from DuckDuckGo

HTML: 3.2 | Encoding: UTF-8 | Version: 0.7.4