Revised Law Speeds Up Push to Stamp Out Online Casino Use; Raising Public Awareness a Key Issue
Flyers bearing the message, 'Online gambling is a crime,' are seen on the counter at a pizza delivery business in Suginami Ward, Tokyo, on Monday.
A bill that prohibits advertising leading to online casino websites has been passed into law, but the public and private sectors will need to work together to craft a range of measures to stamp out illegal gambling from Japanese society.
Following Wednesday's passage of the revised basic law on countermeasures against gambling addiction, the government will proactively initiate demands to remove social media posts and internet videos that encourage people to use online casinos based offshore.
National Public Safety Commission Chairperson Manabu Sakai has insisted the revised law marked a significant step forward in tackling online gambling. 'We will forge ahead with efforts to eliminate information that entices people to casino websites,' Sakai said at a regular press conference Thursday.
Connecting to an online casino from Japan and using the website to gamble is a violation of the nation's Penal Code provisions on gambling. However, there were no restrictions on the use of social media and blogs to post messages, such as a list of '10 recommended online casinos,' intended to stir up interest in them.
The National Police Agency launched a survey in 2024 to gauge the extent of online casino use. The survey results, released in March, revealed that about 3.37 million people are using or have used online casinos from Japan, with total annual wagers reaching an estimated ¥1.2 trillion. About 60% of these online casino users were aware they had a gambling addiction. This was the first time the government had made public the results of a survey on online casinos.
Posts by celebrities and influencers that spark interest in gambling websites among young people and others have become a factor in some people getting involved in illegal gambling. The revised law clearly defines advertisements and social media posts that guide users to casino sites as illegal.
Penalty provisions were not included in the bill because priority was given to swiftly passing it into law. However, under the revised law, advertisements leading to casino sites that previously were considered 'harmful information' are now deemed to be 'illegal information.' Consequently, the Internet Hotline Center Japan, which has been commissioned by the NPA, is now able to demand internet providers and social media platform operators remove such content.
According to the survey, about 75% of people who had viewed casino sites said they had actually remitted money for gambling. It is hoped that measures blocking the 'entrance' to these websites will have a major impact on preventing online gambling.
Raising public awareness
The revised law also requires the central and local governments to conduct awareness campaigns to inform the public that using online casinos is prohibited.
A male employee at a Pizza-La pizza delivery shop in the Koenji area of Suginami Ward, Tokyo, was preparing delivery bags at around noon on Monday. Inside each one, he placed a flyer explaining that using online casinos violates gambling laws and that 'not knowing' online gambling is illegal is not a sufficient excuse. This was part of an initiative launched by the NPA with the Tokyo-based Safety Driving Association. The association's 48 members will cooperate with the campaign.
'We feel a social responsibility to do this,' said a director at the association.
Ensuring that young people are fully aware that online gambling is illegal remains a pressing issue to be addressed. To help this message get through, the NPA will work with the operators of large-screen displays at Tokyo Dome and elsewhere to broadcast awareness videos and press entertainment agencies to prevent their talent from becoming the face of an online casino.
Blocking remittances
The Financial Services Agency and the NPA in May pressed entities including the Japanese Bankers Association and the Japan Virtual and Crypto Assets Exchange Association to tell their members to halt any transaction that is found to be a remittance to an online casino operator. Cutting off the sending of money to such operators is called a 'payment block.'
However, 'tokuryu' anonymous and fluid crime groups are among the domestic operators that function as payment service agents that collude with the casino website operators.
'We'll crack down on operators that popularize online casinos and also step up our activities to raise awareness of the issue,' a senior police official told The Yomiuri Shimbun.
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