Japan's National Police Agency instructed police nationwide in December to thoroughly clamp down on payment service agents operating illegally, according to The Japan News1. The instruction followed a National Police Agency survey, its first on online casinos, which estimated that 3.37 million people in Japan have placed bets on overseas casino websites1.
Gambling is illegal in Japan under the Penal Code except for publicly licensed betting such as horse racing and keirin cycling, and accessing overseas casino sites from Japan is illegal even where the operator is licensed abroad1. The NPA found that of 40 overseas casino websites usable in Japanese, six appeared aimed exclusively at Japan, with connections only from users in Japan1. Users typically bet with points bought from the site, paying by credit card, bank transfer, crypto assets or other methods1. Because financial institutions check overseas remittances closely, Japan-based agents that work with casino operators handle payments, issuing points against money paid in and paying out winnings1.
Agents take a commission on customer transactions, reported as varying by contract, with some taking 0.5% or as much as 7%1. Three cases illustrate the scale:
| Case | Detail |
|---|---|
| Tokyo, 2023 | An agent in Shibuya Ward using the Sumo Pay processing system handled more than ¥50 billion from about 42,000 customers and took a 2% to 3% cut from the casino operator; the system has since been shut down1 |
| Kanagawa, February | An agent managed about 500 bank accounts, collected about ¥90 billion in bets since 2023 and netted about ¥4.7 billion in commissions1 |
| Osaka and Aichi, 2024 | The Rivaton group, suspected of concealing criminal funds under the organized crime punishment law, managed about 4,000 bank accounts under about 500 company names and had contracts with about 50 casino operators1 |
NPA Commissioner General Yoshinobu Kusunoki, speaking at a press conference on March 13, the day the survey findings were released, said:
"We will firmly crack down on agents and affiliates who advertise online casino websites"
A basic plan to combat gambling addiction, including measures against payment service operators involved with online casinos, was approved by the Cabinet on Friday1. A senior police official in charge of online casino measures said after the approval: "We want to work with relevant ministries and agencies to dismantle the business model of illegal gambling"1. The report notes that countries such as Germany have introduced measures prohibiting financial institutions from conducting business transactions with illegal casino operators1.
What it means for players
Gambling on overseas online casino sites from Japan is illegal, regardless of whether the operator is licensed elsewhere, and the NPA survey indicates millions of people in Japan have done it1. The payment route most users rely on runs through Japan-based agents rather than direct transfers, and those agents are now the target of the nationwide crackdown1. Police have used information obtained from agents to identify online casino users and continue to uncover suspected gambling cases1. The report also notes that awareness that the activity is a crime is not widespread among users; one man in his 20s who gambled on online slot machines said it was easy to send money for bets and that he did not think it was illegal1. For background on how these payment arrangements work, see when a betting site asks you to pay a personal bank account and gambling payments in Asia. The legal position for players in Japan is set out in Can I Gamble in Japan?
What happens next
The Cabinet approved the basic plan to combat gambling addiction, which includes measures against payment service operators involved with online casinos, on the Friday before the report's publication1. The report says the government needs to implement effective measures swiftly, and that policies to deter agents are urgently required1. No further dated steps have been reported1.
