Advertising ban comes into force

Japan's amendment to the Act on Basic Policy on Countermeasures against Gambling Addiction took effect on 25 September 2025, the National Police Agency said. The law was enacted and promulgated in June 2025 as Law No. 76 of the seventh year of Reiwa¹.

The amendment prohibits presenting websites or applications that provide venues for illegal online gambling, including online casinos, to unspecified people in Japan, and prohibits disseminating information intended to direct users toward illegal online gambling¹. The NPA lists prohibited conduct as including opening and operating online casino sites, listing online casino apps in app stores, posting online casino links or advertising on social media, and building comparison sites that introduce online casino sites¹. The law also obliges national and local governments to take measures to make the prohibition on online casinos widely known through education and public information activities in homes, schools, workplaces and communities¹.

The NPA states that gambling from inside Japan on an overseas online casino is a crime even where that casino operates legally in its home jurisdiction, and that online gambling is a crime regardless of the game's name or content, including baccarat, slots and sports betting¹. It also states that use of free versions and free bonuses or points is covered². Penalties under the Penal Code are a fine of up to 500,000 yen or a petty fine for gambling, and imprisonment with work of up to three years for habitual gambling¹.

The NPA published examples of enforcement, including a bettor who connected from a home computer in Japan to an overseas-operated online casino site and played against the site's dealer, who was arrested on a gambling charge, and a person who took affiliate contracts with overseas online casino operators and solicited use of the sites on video platforms, who was arrested on a charge of aiding habitual gambling¹. Police recorded 165 online gambling cases involving 317 people in 2025, against 62 cases the previous year, according to figures cited by TokyoReporter³. In July, Saitama Prefectural Police arrested nine suspects over a payment-processing operation alleged to have facilitated around 340 billion yen in illegal online casino wagers³.

What it means for players

The change targets advertising and promotion rather than the act of betting, which was already illegal. For anyone physically in Japan, including residents, expats and visitors, connecting to an overseas online casino remains a criminal offense under the NPA's stated position, and the agency says this applies to free play and bonus credit as well as paid play¹. The practical effect of the amendment is that the routes by which players in Japan find such sites, including social media posts, affiliate videos and comparison sites, are now themselves prohibited conduct¹. The NPA says police are pursuing not only operators and bettors but also payment processors and affiliates¹. The NPA states that using cryptocurrency or a VPN does not change the legal position³.

What happens next

The law is in force as of 25 September 2025¹. The NPA says police will continue enforcement against online gambling offenses¹. The agency has published public information posters and videos and operates a security division account on X to spread awareness of the rules¹. No further legislative steps are set out in the published material.

For background on how Japan's rules fit with the rest of the region, see Gambling Laws in Asia: What Is Legal in 12 Jurisdictions and Recent and Pending Gambling Law Changes in Asia. For country specifics, see Can I Gamble in Japan?. For support and warning signs, see Safer Gambling in Asia and What Is Gambling Disorder?.