Since 2020, the pandemic has completely changed people’s lifestyles. Among these changes, one of the most significant has been in how people spend their leisure time. People have shifted their focus from out-of-home leisure activities such as going to the movies and watching sports games to “home-based entertainment” that can be purchased online and consumed at home, such as video streaming services like Netflix and YouTube, video games, and e-books.
The “home entertainment economy” formed by these leisure activities continues to evolve even now that it has become a huge market, transforming traditional leisure activities from mere consumption into something closer to investment.
Among these, the rise of sports betting, which transforms the experience from watching to participating, is attracting particular attention.
The Rise of Sports Betting as Interactive Leisure
Online sports betting is rapidly gaining prominence not just as entertainment but as an intellectual, participatory experience that can be enjoyed from home.
Many of the top-tier bookmakers that are currently popular worldwide offer live streaming of ongoing matches. Sports betting, which involves reading the flow of the game and making repeated choices and judgments while placing bets, can be considered an extension of video viewing, but it is a much more proactive and strategic form of entertainment.
Japan is an example of a country that has seen a significant increase in online betting users during the pandemic. With sports viewing on TV and streaming becoming the norm due to stay-at-home measures, the addition of betting on the viewing experience has redefined the excitement felt through the screen.
Currently, many online bookmakers that accept Japanese users have emerged, and with the convenience of being able to access them from a single smartphone, live betting on soccer, baseball, F1, and even e-sports is gaining significant popularity.
Comparison with other home entertainment options: What are the differences?
Unlike streaming video or music streaming, which are also forms of home-based leisure activities, sports betting is an active form of leisure. Video and music subscriptions are passive experiences where content is provided unilaterally.
On the other hand, betting requires real-time decision-making, and participants can receive monetary rewards based on the outcome. This structure is similar to P2E games.
In fact, esports and sports betting are highly compatible, and a style of watching esports on live streaming platforms like Twitch while placing bets is beginning to take shape. For generations raised alongside anime, these represent a natural extension into new, participatory digital entertainment.
Understanding the revenue structure of “leisure consumption”
The revenue of online bookmakers is based on odds design and margins (deduction rates) for each bet. Unlike flat-rate subscriptions such as Netflix, this model varies in terms of the timing and amount of active payments made by users. In other words, spending functions more as an investment in the experience than as consumption of content.
Additionally, betting sites actively promote incentives like first-time bonuses and cashback to lower barriers to entry. This “reward design” is similar to incentive strategies in social games and fintech, serving as a mechanism to encourage continued use.
The Era of Active Entertainment as the Preferred Leisure Activity
As the value of time spent at home is reevaluated, there is a growing demand for leisure activities that allow people to actively participate and enjoy themselves rather than simply pass the time. Sports betting is a prime example of this new form of entertainment that combines intellectual stimulation and immersion.
While sports betting remains in a legal gray area in Japan, the actual usage patterns and cultural acceptance of the activity clearly indicate that it has already become a non-traditional form of enjoyment for a significant number of users. As at-home entertainment evolves from passive viewing to active participation, sports betting may be at the forefront of this trend.
IQ Newswire