Sales of the J. League's "toto" soccer lottery kicked off Saturday at around 6,200 officially sanctioned sales points across the country.
Punters are vying for a maximum prize of 100 million yen, while lottery cards are priced at 100 yen each.
While concerns have been voiced that the lottery will have a bad influence on young people, it will be an added feature to the games for die-hard fans of J. League soccer.
With the opening of the World Cup in Japan and South Korea just over a year away, expectations are high in soccer circles that the lottery will increase the sport's popularity.
Expansive publicity surrounded the start of the lottery, with regions hosting J. League soccer teams holding events.
At Tokyo's Odaiba, an appearance by former Japan national team player Ruis Ramos got the ball rolling.
However, the turnout at sales points, which include gasoline stands and lunch box kiosks, was initially sluggish Saturday morning.
Thirteen games are scheduled for the opening days of the two divisions of the J. League -- J1 and J2 -- on March 10 and 11.
Punters must guess the results of each game, placing a mark indicating a win, loss or tie for the home team. Sales of the cards will continue until the day before the match.
The first winners are expected to be announced on the evening of Mar. 11. There are also concerns, however, that the marking system of the lottery cards is too confusing.