The National Police Agency in Japan is commencing a widespread investigation into offshore online casinos. [Image: Shutterstock.com]

Cracking down

Japanese are targeting illegal offshore gambling for the first time in a major way, with the National Police Agency (NPA) launching an investigation into offshore online casinos that target residents.

Usage of these platforms is growing rapidly and is leading to young people in particular falling into addiction, debt, and having to engage in shady activities like selling bank accounts to finance their spending.

develop a plan to counteract the problem

After compiling its findings, the NPA plans to share its results with any relevant government agencies and ministries to try to tackle the issue. It will break down the data to fully understand what’s happening and then develop a plan to counteract the problem.

Concerning figures

While all forms of online gambling are currently illegal in Japan, even if they are offshore, research shows that the total number of visits that people in Japan make to offshore gambling sites is tens of millions each month. Many of these platforms offer sports betting and casino games in Japanese, catering to local events and tastes.

consultations relating to iGaming increased from 4.3% in 2019 to 20.3%

The rise in online casino usage is reflected by figures from a major addiction center in Tokyo. It noted that the number of consultations relating to iGaming increased from 4.3% in 2019 to 20.3% last year.

Wide-ranging approach

Some important aspects of the NPA’s investigation will be identifying the operators of platforms that target people in the country, where their operations are coming from and the money they deal with.

Only certain forms of gambling are legal in Japan, such as betting on horse racing, the lottery, pachinko, and commercial casinos.

The NPA also intends to survey 7,000 people in Japan to ask them about their usage of online casinos. The report is due by the end of the fiscal year, which is March 31, 2025.