The Taiwan Sports Lottery reported record revenues of NT$6.46 billion (US$1.42 billion) last year, with record wagers placed on The FIFA World Cup 

The lottery said that NT$4 billion of the revenue would contribute to the National Sports Development Fund.

Many US professional sports leagues, such as the NBA or MLB, suspended their seasons in March last year. In response, the agency implemented an emergency response plan to protect local sports lottery providers, allowing betting schemes with higher prizes and opening new sports to the sector.

The agency is also mulling new measures, it said. “We will introduce betting on table tennis, mixed martial arts and online video games,” the agency said. “We will also sanction 8,000 more basketball, soccer, volleyball and ice hockey games for people to bet on.”

For every NT$100 bet, NT$10 would automatically go to the National Sports Development Fund, and benefit local athletes and the sports industry, it said.

Bets on soccer exceeded those on baseball and basketball games for the first time last year, as soccer seasons in Europe continued amid the pandemic, the agency said.

Soccer betting revenue grew 16.5 percent to NT$16.5 billion, it added.