Police across 24 prefectures arrested 57 suspects on gambling charges after they deposited crypto assets into overseas online casino sites and gambled from within Japan, according to a National Police Agency report on gambling and adult-entertainment enforcement published in April 20251. The arrests were made by November 26, 2024, the report said1.
The case was one of three online gambling examples the agency highlighted for 2024. In the crypto case, suspects used crypto assets to deposit money into overseas online casino sites and accessed those sites from internet-connected devices inside Japan to gamble1. The agency attributed the investigation to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police and other forces1.
Online gambling cases handled by police rose sharply in 2024. The agency recorded 62 cases, up 49 from the previous year, and 279 people, up 172. Of those, 55 cases and 227 people involved no physical storefront. By role, 117 of the 279 were operators or others involved in running the activity, including payment processors and affiliates, and 162 were gamblers1.
Two other 2024 cases were cited. In one, suspects ran a payment system that let players use overseas online casino sites and conspired with casino operators to take deposits; by July 2024, five suspects were arrested on habitual gambling charges and six players on gambling charges, in a case handled by Chiba prefectural police1. In another, a person posted and streamed videos introducing overseas online casinos and invited viewers to gamble; in September 2024 that person was arrested for aiding habitual gambling and one invited player was arrested for habitual gambling, in a case handled by Saitama prefectural police1.
"令和６年11月26日までに、24都府県警察において被疑者57人を賭博罪で検挙した。"
The same report also covered host clubs. Police recorded 81 host club cases and 207 arrests in 2024, up 39 cases and 121 people from the previous year. Of the 207, 88 were hosts and 73 were other host club personnel. Inspections covered 659 host club premises and 707 administrative actions were taken: two license revocations, 12 suspension orders and 693 instructions1.
What it means for players
Japan's gambling law applies to the act of gambling, not only to the operator. The 57 arrests show that players who fund overseas casino accounts with crypto assets and play from Japan can face gambling charges, and the agency counted 162 gamblers among the 279 people arrested over online gambling in 20241. The report also counted payment processors and affiliates among those arrested, so people who help others access offshore sites are treated as involved in the operation1. Japan does not license online casinos, and the report does not describe any legal route for playing at overseas sites from inside the country. See Can I Play at Online Casinos in Japan? and Gambling Abroad When You Live in Japan.
What happens next
The report gives no further steps beyond the arrests already made. It does not say whether the 57 suspects were charged, what penalties they face, or whether more arrests are planned. Those details have not been reported1.
Sources2 sources
- R6fuuzokukannkeijihanntorisimarijyoukyou.pdf, npa.go.jp
- R7kouaniinkaihoukoku3.pdf, npa.go.jp
