Japan PM says online casinos to remain illegal, promises further crackdowns

June 3, 2022 Japan Crime & Legal Industry Updates

Japanese Prime Minister Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s has promised to crack down on the use of online casinos, reiterating that they remain a “gambling crime” and insisting illegal organizations will not be tolerated.

His comments, made at a Budget Committee meeting of the lower house of the Diet on 1 June, were in response to questions from Constitutional Democratic Party councilman Issei Yamagishi, who noted that inquiries to the National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan regarding online casinos had increased from about 100 annually in 2014 to nearly 500 in 2020. He also said there are more than 2 million users of online casinos in Japan according to estimates, which is seen as particularly high considering that 5.06 million bet on horse racing online, 3.29 million on keirin and 1.17 million on boat racing.

Prime Minister Kishida said, “In the event a portion of the act of gambling is taking place within Japan, it constitutes a gambling crime. I understand there are cases in which arrests and criminal charges have been made related to online casinos. We cannot allow illegal organizations to expand.”