{"id":777044283,"date":"2026-06-30T09:07:07","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T12:07:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/?p=777044283"},"modified":"2026-06-30T09:07:26","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T12:07:26","slug":"japans-alternative-prediction-market-sector-grows-with-points-based-platforms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/japans-alternative-prediction-market-sector-grows-with-points-based-platforms","title":{"rendered":"Japan\u2019s alternative prediction market sector grows with points-based platforms"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Startups are attracting millions of users with prediction offerings based on loyalty points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Japan.- An alternative to traditional prediction market platforms is gaining traction in Japan. Local companies are offering options that allow users to forecast the outcome of real-world events using virtual points instead of money as betting with money is prohibited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Miraima, which launched in November 2025, has reportedly reached nearly one million monthly users in just seven months, driven by interest in sports, politics and other current events. Other companies, including Poyp and gaming group Gumi, have entered the market with similar platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unlike international operators such as Polymarket or Kalshi, these platforms do not accept cash or cryptocurrency wagers. Instead, users earn points by registering, watching advertisements or completing activities within the app. Those points can then be used to make predictions, and successful users receive additional points that can be redeemed for gift cards or rewards through services such as PayPay and Rakuten.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The model is intended to comply with Japan’s gambling regulations while tapping into the country’s established loyalty points culture, where consumers collect and redeem points through retailers and digital payment services. However, legal experts suggest the format could still face regulatory scrutiny because the rewards have monetary value. Meanwhile, overseas operators continue to monitor the Japanese market. According to local reports, Polymarket has appointed a representative in Japan as it explores the possibility of entering the country if regulations eventually allow real-money prediction markets.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n\t\t\tSee also:<\/span><\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tSee also:<\/span> Japan\u2019s Bitbank warns users over Polymarket transactions<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Startups are attracting millions of users with prediction offerings based on loyalty points.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":680,"featured_media":17674,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"is_press_release":false,"is_interview":false,"is_opinion":false,"focusai_summary":"Japan's iGaming landscape is seeing the emergence of loyalty-point-based prediction platforms, such as Miraima, which have rapidly scaled user acquisition by leveraging virtual points instead of cash to circumvent strict gambling prohibitions. While these platforms aim for regulatory compliance, legal experts anticipate scrutiny due to the monetary value of redeemable rewards, prompting international operators like Polymarket to monitor potential market liberalization.","focusai_entities":"Miraima, Poyp, Gumi, Polymarket, Kalshi, PayPay, Rakuten, Bitbank","focusai_location":"Japan","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (0.9), regulator (1.0), compliance_legal (1.0), operator_casino (0.8), affiliate_publisher (0.7), product_ux (0.8), tech_data (0.7), marketing_crm (0.9), payments_fraud_aml (0.7), investor_analyst (1.0), supplier_vendor (0.8), journalist_researcher (1.0)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"Japan Prediction Market Outlook","query":"What specific regulatory interpretations or legislative changes would be required for real-money prediction market operators like Polymarket to legally enter the Japanese market?"},{"label":"Loyalty Points Regulatory Risk","query":"How might Japanese regulators define 'monetary value' in the context of loyalty points redeemable for gift cards, and what precedent could this set for other gamified reward systems?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[157,16338],"tags":[470,25125],"class_list":["post-777044283","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-news","category-east-asia-news","tag-japan","tag-prediction-market"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777044283","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/680"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=777044283"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777044283\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":777044289,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777044283\/revisions\/777044289"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17674"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=777044283"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777044283"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777044283"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}