J9 will take the 2023 Basketball World Cup trophy on a global tour as part of the agreement, and will use a newly-launched J9.basketball domain "to promote basketball related corporate social responsibility activities," FIBA claims.

FIBA media and marketing services director general Frank Leenders said of the partnership: "We are excited to have J9 joining the FIBA family as our most recent global partner.

"This partnership will certainly boost FIBA's goal of advancing the promotion of basketball worldwide while at the same time bring fans closer to the game through new and improved experiences, including the Trophy Tour and other activities supported by our new global partner J9."

James Chen, managing director of J9.com, added: "It is a great honour for us to become a global partner of FIBA and to have the opportunity to contribute to the development of basketball globally.

"With our innovative and digital ways, we are sure that we will be able to help FIBA deliver the charm and joy of basketball to more fans across the world."

The sports gambling industry was estimated to be worth more than $200 billion (£150 billion/€170 billion) worldwide in 2020.

However, gambling remains outlawed in many nations and the industry has come under growling scrutiny for its sometimes ruinous impact on users - both financially and in terms of mental health - and there are fears from campaigners that gambling is becoming normalised among children and young people as its prominence in sport grows.

Controversies have also hit several sports over athletes' use of gambling services.

Last July, Nigerian-American basketball player Alex Owumi was suspended from playing and attending matches in Britain for six weeks for betting offences, while a scandal hit the American National Basketball Association in 2007, with referee Tim Donaghy sentenced to 15 months in prison by a federal judge a year later for his involvement.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued guidelines for sports organisations on sponsorship by sports betting operators in June 2020.

It says such partnerships offer "a great opportunity for the funding of sports organisations," but that risks "need to be thoroughly taken into account," including "the possibility of competition manipulation" and creating a potential "conflict of interests" for athletes or sports officials.

The guidelines also include examples of "best practices" among International Federations.