Latest amendment to the JRA gambling disorder regulation takes effect

The Japan Racing Association (JRA) brought its gambling disorder measures regulation into force in amended form on 1 March 2026, under Chairman Directive No. 12, dated 12 February 2026¹. The regulation sets out how the JRA carries out its duties as a relevant business operator under Article 7 of the Basic Act on Measures against Gambling Disorder¹.

The regulation covers the JRA's structure for the policy and the measures themselves. It establishes a gambling disorder measures committee, a top officer for gambling disorder measures, senior officers drawn from the heads of the promotion, public relations, customer and WINS departments, racecourse managers and others named by the chairman, and officers drawn from deputy department heads, the customer service and sales office, the online sales office, the video and web production office, the customer consultation office, the WINS business office and racecourse deputy managers¹.

The measures listed include the following¹:

• steps to prevent anyone under 20 from buying winning horse betting tickets¹
• entry restrictions at racecourses and off-course betting offices under Articles 76-2 and 87-2 of the JRA racing implementation rules¹
• refusal of applications under Article 71, paragraph 4 of those rules¹
• the setting of spending limits under the telephone and internet betting rules and the cashless betting rules¹

The regulation also commits the JRA to taking part in the consultation service run by the National Public Racing Organizers Liaison Council and to helping publicize it, to training for officers and employees as needed, and to advertising and promotion conducted with attention to the prevention of gambling disorder under the JRA advertising and publicity guidelines¹.

The text does not state which articles the February 2026 directive changed; that has not been reported¹.

What it means for players

The regulation applies to betting on JRA central horse racing, which is sold at racecourses, off-course WINS outlets and through telephone and internet channels. The measures it describes are the ones that touch bettors directly: age checks on ticket purchases, the ability to restrict entry to racecourses and betting offices, refusal of applications, and spending limits on telephone, internet and cashless betting accounts¹. The regulation sets out the procedures the JRA follows for those steps, referring to its customer service rules and its telephone, internet and cashless betting rules¹. It does not change the legal betting age, which remains 20, and it does not set out new limits or thresholds in the text¹.

What happens next

The regulation requires the JRA to draw up a gambling disorder measures implementation plan each business year and to have the committee evaluate the previous year's implementation¹. No further dated steps appear in the text¹.

For background on how the JRA's rules fit with the wider legal picture, see gambling laws in Asia, recent and pending gambling law changes in Asia and can I gamble in Japan. For the betting channels the regulation covers, see horse racing and betting in Asia.