Keirin Net Bank Service Registration

Keirin Net Bank Service is the bridge between your bank account and KEIRIN.JP, the official online betting service for Japanese bicycle racing. Once it is set up, you can place bets and receive payouts without leaving your home. This guide walks through the six registration steps, the fields you need to fill in, the banks you can use, and who is allowed to bet.

The six registration steps, step by step

The registration process runs through six screens. The exact wording shifts slightly depending on which bank you pick, but the sequence is the same across all of them².

1. Terms of use screen. The terms are displayed. Read them, select "agree," and press the send button. If you select "do not agree," you cannot apply³.
2. Account confirmation input screen. Enter the information needed to confirm your bank account. Every field on this screen is required⁵.
3. Account confirmation screen. Your entered details are shown for review. Depending on your bank, you may be taken to the bank's own website here to complete a direct debit agreement⁵.
4. Membership registration input screen. Enter your member details. Fields marked with an asterisk are required³.
5. Membership registration confirmation screen. Check that your member information is correct. If it is, press the application button. If something is wrong, press the back button to fix it⁶.
6. Application completion screen. The application is done. Log in from the top page to use KEIRIN.JP⁴.

The whole thing is designed to be finished in one sitting. If you already have a bank account at one of the supported banks, the registration itself takes about 10 minutes, and you can use both internet and telephone voting immediately afterward².

If you ever want to cancel, you can do it from the member information screen: open "member information" from the top page, press the cancellation button, answer the cancellation survey, enter your internet voting password, and press the cancellation button again⁷.

Required fields and the terms you must agree to

Two rules cover almost every field you will see. On the member registration screen, fields marked with an asterisk are required³. On the account confirmation input screen, every single field is required, no exceptions⁵.

The terms of use screen is the first gate. You have to select "agree" and press send to move forward. Selecting "do not agree" means the application cannot be submitted at all³. There is no partial agreement and no way around it.

Before you start, it helps to have your bank account details in front of you: the account number, the branch, and whatever else your bank uses to identify the account. Because all fields on the account confirmation screen are mandatory, missing a single one will stop you from continuing⁵.

If you are registering through a bank that requires its own internet banking setup, you will also need that login ready. Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, for example, requires you to have registered for SMBC Direct before you can apply⁸.

Registering via Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation

Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation is one of the six supported banks, and its flow shows how the bank-specific parts work¹.

To join through SMBC, you need an ordinary deposit account at the bank and you must be registered for SMBC Direct, the bank's internet banking service⁸. Without both, the application cannot proceed.

The steps follow the same six-screen pattern⁶:

1. The terms of use are displayed. Select "agree" and press the send button. If you select "do not agree," the application cannot be made³.
2. Enter the information needed for account confirmation. All fields are required, then press the confirm button⁵.
3. Review the account confirmation screen.
4. After completing the SMBC internet account transfer agreement, enter the required information for Keirin Net Bank membership registration. Fields marked with an asterisk are required³.
5. Check the membership registration confirmation screen. If the member information is correct, press the application button⁶.
6. The application is complete. Log in from the top page to use KEIRIN.JP⁴.

The key difference with SMBC is that the account transfer agreement happens on the bank's side, in the middle of the process. Once that is done, you come back and finish the membership registration³.

Which banks can I register with?

Six banks support Keirin Net Bank Service¹:

The rule that catches people out is the account requirement. For PayPay Bank, for example, the service is open only to people who already hold a PayPay Bank account. If you do not have one, you have to open an account on the PayPay Bank website first⁹. The same logic applies across the other banks: the Keirin Net Bank Service registration links an existing account, it does not create one.

If you are not sure which bank to use, the practical answer is the one you already bank with. Opening a new account just for this adds a step that can take days, while registering with an account you already hold takes about 10 minutes².

Who can use it: age and Japan's betting rules

You must be 20 years old to use the service. KEIRIN.JP states plainly that anyone under 20 cannot use it¹, and bicycle race tickets are for people who have turned 20¹¹.

This is consistent across Japanese betting. JRA horse racing requires you to be 20 to bet, and anyone under 20 may not buy or cash betting tickets¹². Tokyo City Keiba is open to anyone 20 and older¹³. The pattern is the same everywhere: 20 is the line.

There is one more eligibility rule worth knowing. Telephone voting is available only to individuals who open a voting ordinary deposit account and a transfer ordinary deposit account in their own name at the designated bank by the date specified. Corporations are excluded¹⁴. In practice, this means the account has to be yours, in your own name, as an individual.

For visitors and foreign residents, the practical position is that the service is built around a Japanese bank account in your own name. If you hold one of the six supported accounts, you can register. If you do not, you would need to open one first, which typically requires residency and identification.

What to expect on the day

Registration is not an instant approval process in the sense of waiting for a decision. You fill in the form, agree to the terms, confirm your account, and you are done. The service says the registration takes about 10 minutes and that internet and telephone voting are available right away².

A few practical points:

• Have your bank details ready. All fields on the account confirmation screen are required, so missing information means starting that screen again⁵.
• Expect a redirect to your bank. With Docomo SMTB Net Bank, pressing send moves you to the bank's website account authentication screen, where you complete a direct debit agreement⁵. With Rakuten Bank, agreeing to the terms moves you to the bank's simple application screen for the account transfer agreement⁴.
• Check before you submit. The confirmation screen shows what you entered. If it is correct, press the application button. If not, press back and fix it⁶.
• Log in from the top page afterward. Once the application is complete, that is how you access KEIRIN.JP⁴.

Once you are in, there are limits on how much you can bet. Telephone voting allows up to 3,000 bets per day per subscriber¹⁴. A single application can cover up to 25 blocks of 999 bets, or up to 50 blocks of 999 bets on PC internet voting¹⁶. Those are ceilings, not targets, but they are useful to know if you plan to bet in volume.

You also earn KEIRIN Official Points based on your betting amount as a member. Refunds and bets placed through private sites are not included¹⁷.

Is online betting on keirin legal in Japan?

Betting on keirin through the official KEIRIN.JP service is legal and regulated. That is what the Net Bank Service is for: it connects your bank account to the official system so that bets and payouts run through it¹⁸.

What is not legal is betting on offshore casino websites from Japan. Gambling on online casinos from within Japan is a crime, even when the operator is legally run overseas¹⁵. Players have been prosecuted, so the practical risk is real. If you want to bet online in Japan, the official channels are the ones to use.

For a wider look at how betting accounts in Japan are funded, see Funding Official Betting Accounts: Designated Banks, Net Bank Services and Pay-easy. If you are setting up telephone voting as well, KEIRIN Telephone Voting Membership: Agreement, Funding and Payouts covers that side. And for the general picture of what gambling is and is not allowed in the country, see Can I Gamble in Japan?.