In Japan, Nippon Professional Baseball is a huge hit, but it’s also a home run across the sea in the Philippines. The NPB league, as the second most prestigious pro baseball league in the world (after the United States’ Major League Baseball league, or MLB), is a popular spectator sport and betting sport for Filipino punters.
In fact, NPB baseball betting in the Philippines is one of the most sought-after markets in all of sports gambling, as baseball betting is one of the nation’s favorite wagering markets after basketball, boxing, and sabong/e-Sabong.
With the Japanese sports market gearing up for the 2025 NPB season, it’s time for all you daily sports bettors to do the same. After all, baseball is a sports gambler’s bread and butter, as very few other athletic pastimes generate the daily intrigue – and daily betting lines – that pro baseball does. That’s where our Japanese baseball betting guide for Filipino gamblers comes into play, as we set the record straight on where and how to wager on this big brand of small ball.
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Is It Legal To Bet On NPB Baseball In The Philippines?
Yes, it is legal to wager on Nippon Professional Baseball in the Philippines, whether you do so at a MegaSportsWorld (MSW) brick-and-mortar or online outlet or offshore via any reputable, licensed international sports betting site.
Philippine gambling laws do not bar access to sportsbook sites located outside of the country, and PH gamblers are breaking no national or local laws by participating.
Where To Legally Bet On Japanese Baseball In The Philippines
You can bet on Japanese baseball if you live in the Philippines in one of two ways: at MSW retail venues or online via legitimate international sportsbooks. Both options are legal and safe, though if you wager online, you should only pick the most trusted sportsbooks in the industry, like the sites listed here.
Given the comparative lack of NPB odds offered by MSW, most Filipinos prefer the offshore route, both for its wide selection of Japanese baseball odds and its other gambling markets, which are also legal and safe for all real money betting.
What Is Japanese Baseball?
Japanese baseball, officially called Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), is the highest level of baseball in Japan and the second most prominent baseball league in the entire world (after the MLB).
Talent-wise, the league is often described by scouts as “AAAA baseball,” putting the NPB right above the top level of the MLB’s minor league system in the USA. Japanese baseball is considered to be slightly more competitive than Korean baseball (KBO), which is also a popular betting sport for Filipino punters.
The NPB was founded in 1950, and it is currently comprised of 12 teams across two leagues – the Central League and the Pacific League. The leagues have six teams apiece, each sponsored by a Japanese corporation, and every team plays around 146 games per season (though this can change slightly year to year, with the 2025 season slated for 143 games). The Pacific League winners and Central League winners then play in the Nippon Series – or Japan Series – to determine the season champion.
While the game has its quirks, the NPB is great for purists, particularly those who prefer classic “small ball” to the home run derbies that American baseball has become. For serious bettors and casual fans, the NPB really steps up to the plate!
2025 NPB Betting Odds
At the best online sportsbooks for Philippines bettors, the NPB is covered in its entirety, with dozens of odds and lines for each game of the season and playoffs.
Of course, because NPB action commences six days per week, it’s important that you bookmark this page to get updated futures odds on the various NPB award winners, pennant winners, and eventual champion once those lines are posted.
2025 NPB Season Schedule
- Feb. 23 – March 21: 2025 NPB Preseason
- March 25: 2025 NPB Opening Day (both leagues)
- May 24 – June 12: NPB Interleague Games (18)
- July 26: 2022 NPB All-Star Game 1 (Fukuoka PayPay Dome)
- July 27: 2022 NPB All-Star Game 2 (Matsuyama Botchan Stadium)
- October 1: Beginning of 2025 Climax Series
- October 22 – October 30: 2025 Nippon Series
2024 NPB Baseball Season Recap
The 2024 Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) season ran uninterrupted from March 29 to October 9, with each team playing the full 143-game schedule. Unlike the 2021 season, which paused for the Tokyo Olympics, this year’s campaign maintained its momentum throughout, offering fans and bettors a consistent rhythm of competition.
2024 NPB Regular Season Standings
Central League
- Yomiuri Giants: 77 wins, 59 losses, 7 ties (.566 win percentage)
- Hanshin Tigers: 74 wins, 63 losses, 6 ties (.540)
- Yokohama DeNA BayStars: 71 wins, 69 losses, 3 ties (.507)
- Hiroshima Toyo Carp: 68 wins, 70 losses, 5 ties (.493)
- Tokyo Yakult Swallows: 62 wins, 77 losses, 4 ties (.446)
- Chunichi Dragons: 60 wins, 75 losses, 8 ties (.444)
Pacific League
- Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks: 91 wins, 49 losses, 3 ties (.650)
- Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters: 75 wins, 60 losses, 8 ties (.556)
- Chiba Lotte Marines: 71 wins, 66 losses, 6 ties (.518)
- Tohoku Rakuten Eagles: 67 wins, 72 losses, 4 ties (.482)
- Orix Buffaloes: 63 wins, 77 losses, 3 ties (.450)
- Saitama Seibu Lions: 49 wins, 91 losses, 3 ties (.350)
2024 Climax Series Results
First Stage
- Central League: Yokohama DeNA BayStars defeated Hanshin Tigers
- Pacific League: Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters defeated Chiba Lotte Marines
Final Stage
- Central League: Yokohama DeNA BayStars defeated Yomiuri Giants
- Pacific League: Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks defeated Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters
2024 Japan Series Results
- Champion: Yokohama DeNA BayStars
- Runner-up: Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
- Series MVP: Masayuki Kuwahara (Yokohama DeNA BayStars)
How To Bet On Nippon Professional Baseball In The Philippines
It’s very easy to bet on the NPB in the Philippines, as long as you know where to look. While MegaSportsWorld may occasionally offer betting lines on Japanese baseball, it isn’t a reliable outlet for that market. Of course, the best online PH sportsbooks that operate offshore have all the NPB lines for every single game of the season.
All you need to do to make safe, legal wagers on Nippon Professional Baseball is sign up for a membership at any site listed here and have a firm grasp on the game and the betting types available.
To sign up at any reputable online book, simply follow one of our provided links, click or tap the “Join Now” button at your site of choice, input your credentials, choose a funding method (we recommend Bitcoin or another supported cryptocurrency so you can be eligible for same-day payouts), select a bonus, and submit your ticket.
Then, all that’s left to do is browse the boards and pick the NPB betting lines you like. The wager types on offer will include the following, all of which use the American moneyline format:
- NPB Straight Moneyline Bets
- NPB Run-Line Bets (aka Point Spread Bets)
- NPB Over/Under Bets (aka Totals Bets)
- NPB 5-Inning Lines
- NPB Player Props
- NPB Team Props
- NPB Game Props
- NPB Futures Bets
- NPB Parlays
- NPB Live Bets (aka In-Game Bets)
Philippines-Friendly NPB Mobile Betting
These days, most Filipino sports bettors use their mobile phones to place wagers at legal online betting sites operating overseas. These sites require no downloads or updates, so you aren’t tied to what’s available in the Philippines App Store or Google Play store.
Whether you’re an iPhone sports bettor or Android sports bettor, you will get a custom touchscreen sportsbook experience that offers one-tap wagers and live updates, no matter where in the islands you happen to be.
All you need to enjoy true Philippine mobile sports betting is a decent smartphone or tablet, an Internet connection, and a membership at any legitimate Philippines online sportsbook. With those, you can literally wager from anywhere!
Live Japanese Baseball Betting In The Philippines
Baseball betting is already hugely popular, and as a statistician’s dream, it’s also a sports bettor’s dream. But with live NPB betting in the Philippines at offshore sportsbooks, you’ll get hundreds of more odds for every single game.
By betting on in-game lines that shift as the action does, you can recover bad pregame bets and double down on good ones. In-play wagering also makes the games that much more engaging and immersive, which is why it’s no surprise that live baseball betting on Nippon league baseball is such a hot commodity.
Best of all, you can place live bets via computer and mobile devices of all kinds, so you don’t have to be stuck at home to hit a home run!
About Nippon Professional Baseball
While we covered the basics above, there are a few specific things to understand about the NPB, especially when it comes to PH bettors placing their very first wagers on this unique brand of baseball.
Using the MLB as a benchmark, the Japanese baseball league has some key differences, and these are listed below:
Japanese Baseball Rules
In general, Japanese baseball is very similar to both MLB baseball and KBO League baseball. However, it is more similar to the latter, and the following points of interest show Filipino sports bettors what to look for when comparing the game to the Major Leagues:
- Smaller irregular fields, often with center field dimensions well under 400 feet
- Smaller strike zone that is not uniform at the outside and inside dimensions
- Smaller, denser baseball
- Pacific League uses a DH, while Central League does not
- Games may end in a tie after three extra innings for a maximum of 12-inning games
- Favors a six-man starting pitcher rotation so each pitcher throws once per week
- Games played Monday through Saturday, with Sundays off
- 25-player limit per game
- Japan Series games may end in ties, so some series may go longer than seven games
NPB Season Structure
Typically, the NPB schedule mirrors that of Major League Baseball’s. The Japanese baseball league throws out its first pitch in late March to early April, wrapping up its postseason and the Japan Series championship in October.
Each of the 12 NPB clubs plays 146 games (73 home and 73 away), and each team plays each other team roughly 16 times. This gives Filipino bettors a huge wealth of data to draw from, especially when betting on the NPB during the second half of the season.
In total, the normal NPB season sees around 730 games, all of which have hundreds of betting lines at the best Philippines online sportsbooks. And that’s before you add in all the live NPB betting odds and custom baseball prop bets you can make using your site’s prop builder tool.
NPB Playoffs Format
In 2004, the Pacific League changed its postseason structure, which was then mirrored by the Central League in 2006. Under the current NPB playoffs system – now called the Climax Series – teams are determined and seeded as shown below.
The Climax Series has three stages, with the first-, second-, and third-place teams in both leagues making the playoffs.
- First Stage – Best-of-Three
The First Stage seeds the second-place and third-place teams against one another, with all games taking place at the second-place team’s home field.
- Final Stage – Best-of-Six
The Final Stage is the second stage of the Climax Series, and it pits the winner of the First Stage against the league champion, or number-one seed. That team is given a one-game advantage, which is why this series is a best-of-six instead of a traditional best-of-seven.
- Nippon Series (aka Japan Series) – Best-of-Seven
The winners of the Pacific League Final Stage and the Central League Final Stage (i.e. the pennant winners) face off in the championship round, called the Nippon Series or Japan Series. This series is contested in a 2-3-2 format, and because games can end in ties after 12 innings, the series can technically extend beyond seven games.
NPB Teams
There are 12 NPB teams, with six clubs in each of the two leagues that comprise Nippon Professional Baseball. The Japanese baseball teams break down as follows:
Pacific League
- Chiba Lotte Marines – Chiba, Chiba (ZOZO Marine Stadium)
- Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – Fukuoka (Fukuoka, PayPay Dome)
- Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters – Sapporo, Hokkaidō (Sapporo Dome)
- Orix Buffaloes – Osaka, Osaka and Kobe, Hyōgo (Kyocera Dome Osaka and Hotto Motto Field Kobe)
- Saitama Seibu Lions – Tokorozawa, Saitama (MetLife Dome)
- Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles – Sendai, Miyagi (Rakuten Seimei Park Miyagi)
Central League
- Chunichi Dragons – Nagoya, Aichi (Nagoya Dome)
- Hanshin Tigers – Nishinomiya, Hyōgo (Hanshin Koshien Stadium)
- Hiroshima Toyo Carp – Hiroshima, Hiroshima (MAZDA Zoom-Zoom Stadium Hiroshima)
- Tokyo Yakult Swallows – Shinjuku, Tokyo (Meiji Jingu Stadium)
- Yokohama DeNA BayStars – Yokohama, Kanagawa (Yokohama Stadium)
- Yomiuri Giants – Bunkyō, Tokyo (Tokyo Dome)