Japan’s Lower House Approves Crackdown on Online Gambling and Affiliates in Sweeping Legal Amendment

Japan’s House of Representatives has voted in favor of a legislative amendment aimed at tightening the country’s crackdown on illegal online casinos and the affiliates who promote them. The proposed revisions to the Basic Law on Countermeasures against Gambling Addiction, reported by Kyodo News, are designed to grant authorities expanded powers to target gambling-related websites and curb the explosive growth of unlawful online betting.

Under the new amendment, Japanese law enforcement agencies and courts will be empowered to forcibly shut down or block access to websites linked to online gambling. The measure is now awaiting a fast-tracked vote in the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of the National Diet, where it is expected to pass in the coming days.

The move comes as concerns rise over the surge in online casino activity among Japanese citizens. While most forms of online betting are already banned in Japan, a significant number of casino platforms still target the domestic market. Police officials estimate that around 70 percent of Japanese-language online casino sites are operated from Curaçao, a Caribbean island nation known for lenient licensing regimes.

The amendment marks a significant tightening of legal restrictions, effectively making it a criminal offense to even access gambling websites from within Japan. Courts will be authorized to impose fines of up to ¥500,000 (approximately $3,500) on individuals caught betting through online casinos. Repeat offenders could face jail sentences of up to three years under the new framework.

Recent months have seen intensified enforcement efforts, with high-profile cases adding fuel to legislative urgency. One case involved a 30-year-old civil servant in Kanagawa Prefecture, who was suspended and had his pay docked after being caught gambling on his smartphone during work hours. The same individual was found to have leaked colleagues’ personal data to illicit loan providers in an effort to finance his addiction.

In another headline-grabbing case, police arrested a 38-year-old man for allegedly wagering as much as ¥28 billion ($194.4 million) through illegal online casinos. Upon admitting to the allegations, the suspect reportedly told investigators, “News reports said there were hundreds of thousands of players in Japan, so I thought I was only the tip of the iceberg.”

The bill, which Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s Cabinet initially approved in March this year, has undergone refinements in response to escalating cases and increased gambling activity. Last month, several leading companies disclosed that Japanese residents are now spending an estimated $44.2 billion annually on sports betting alone. According to the National Police Agency, approximately 3.37 million citizens have accessed online casinos so far this year, placing bets worth around ¥1.2 trillion ($8.2 billion).

The amendment also includes key provisions targeting digital platforms such as YouTube and Instagram. Courts and police will now have the authority to compel these platforms to remove any content that leads Japanese users to gambling sites. In addition to enforcement measures, the law requires Japanese administrative agencies to increase public awareness campaigns, aiming to educate the public on the illegality of engaging in online gambling. Lawmakers have emphasized the importance of these campaigns, noting that many defendants in gambling cases claimed they were unaware that betting on overseas sites constituted a criminal act.

Support for the bill has come from both ruling and opposition parties, who agree that emergency steps are needed to confront the proliferation of foreign-operated gambling platforms. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications has responded by forming a special task force of experts to address the issue. Among the measures reportedly under consideration is the mandatory blocking of gambling sites by Japanese internet service providers.

As Japan grapples with growing concerns over gambling addiction and digital enforcement, the latest legislative effort marks a clear signal that the government intends to take a firmer stance against online casinos and their promoters.

By fLEXI tEAM