Japan goes after illegal online casinos

Japanese police have taken the first step in an investigation into foreign gambling sites that target Japanese players. Although online gambling is officially prohibited in Japan, some gambling sites pretend that it is no problem to play anyway. They make people believe that it is legal, but that is not the case.

The Japanese National Police (NPA) is now going after these foreign casinos. Many Japanese people think that gambling via a foreign website is allowed, because the servers are located outside the country. These gambling sites often mislead players by saying that they are legal or that they have never been labeled as illegal. They also often throw in that they have a license in another country, which is supposed to make it all seem trustworthy.

The same problem arises in Belgium and other European countries. Some casinos, with a gaming license in Malta or Curacao, target European players by highlighting this license to position themselves as a legal casino. However, in most European countries, these casino sites are illegal because they do not have an adequate license in the targeted country. In Belgium, for example, you must have a license issued by the Gaming Commission to be considered a legal casino.

Why many people think it is legal

In Japan, people are allowed to participate in the lottery and bet on races: horses, bicycles, motorcycles and speedboats. But otherwise gambling is strictly prohibited by law. That will change in 2030, when the country’s first major casino opens in Osaka. The luxury resort, which cost 1.08 trillion to build, will then open its doors to local residents who meet certain income requirements. They will have to pay an entrance fee, but it is free for foreigners.

MGM Resorts, the American operator of the casino, expects the Japanese in particular to ring the cash register. They estimate that the casino attracts 20 million visitors annually, of which 14 million are Japanese and 6 million tourists.

Online gambling exploded during the pandemic

Since the outbreak of corona, online gambling in Japan has taken off. Young people in particular turned to the gambling sites when they were stuck at home. In 2018, there were about 700,000 visits to these websites per month, but in 2021 that exploded to 83 million per month!

Of course, this also has a downside. The organization Society Concerned about Gambling Addiction, which is concerned about gambling addiction, saw a huge increase in the number of requests for help between 2019 and 2023. People calling about online gambling problems increased by 372%. There were also many more reports about legal gambling, such as speedboats. Even more worrying was that more than 28% of the calls were about people who committed crimes to support their gambling addiction, such as borrowing from loan sharks or stealing from family members.

Gambling without control is no longer possible

On August 29, the Yomiuri Shimbun published a sharp opinion piece about the dangers of online casinos. It stated that some people build up huge debts by gambling online. To pay off these debts, they take on so-called “dark jobs”, often fraudulent jobs that support the criminal circuit. The article called on the government to take action. Other countries, such as in Europe, have already taken steps to block access to illegal gambling sites. Japan should follow that example.

Authorities tackle criminals behind gambling sites

In the meantime, the police are not sitting still either. In September, they arrested two people in Tokyo, Aichi and Fukuoka who helped process payments for online casinos. This was the first time anyone had been arrested on such charges. Police suspect that the suspects transferred billions of yen and made ¥2.1 billion in commissions.

In February, seven people were arrested in Kyoto for running an illegal gambling site. The site, which had been operating since 2011, received a total of 2.3 billion in deposits. The operators pretended that it was all legal entertainment. In June, police in Osaka managed to arrest the leader of a major money laundering operation. He is said to have laundered money from various criminal activities, including online gambling.

The NPA’s investigation is just the beginning. They want to get a good picture of the situation before taking definitive measures against these online gambling sites.