Illegal Online Gambling in Japan Faces Fines, Jail, and Enforcement

Japan is second only to China in its mobile gaming market, despite the market being heavily restricted and internationally based online casinos being illegal in the country. The National Police Agency, which enforces Japanese laws, has intensified measures against these operators, servicing players through the gray market, and now the Japanese Cabinet has approved a multi-prong strategy to crack down on these sites.

The new measures target payment providers, affiliate marketers and bring new public awareness campaigns to give clarity to Japanese users on the laws of the land. Furthermore, Japan is set to introduce penalties for gambling on sites that are considered to be part of the black market. Fines of up to JPY 500,000 (Over USD 3,200) are going to be slapped on players who break the law and play on black market gambling sites, and repeat offenders could face up to 3 years in prison.

Japanese Cabinet Approves Anti Gambling Measures

In March of this year, Japan’s Cabinet approved new legislative measures to crack down on unrecognized online casino activity. The policies will specifically target operators who are based outside Japan, whether they are licensed abroad or not. Clarifying the legality of online casino gaming in Japan, the policy states that even if a casino holds an iGaming license abroad, accessing it in Japan is considered a crime, and this will be enforced by penalties. It will not be just operators who are held accountable for illegal online casino activity. Players will receive fines and even, in the more serious cases, jail time if they don’t abide by the laws.

Under this framework, financial institutions, banks, ePayment providers and also crypto exchanges will be asked to monitor and block payments that go to sites which are suspected of offering online casino games. The Japanese laws, executed by the NPA, will also target market affiliate sites. Specifically, those who drive Japanese traffic to any of the sites in question.

The Cabinet also approved bans on gambling advertising or online casino promotions. With research pointing towards a younger demographic getting involved in the illicit activities, the goal was to aim the restrictions at influencers and social media platforms that could link to gambling sites.

What This Means for Japanese Players

The laws went into effect on September 25, 2025, and shortly after, two people were arrested in the Gifu Prefecture for running an illicit affiliate site, Onkaji Hissho. This is the first time the Japanese authorities have put legislation directed at players and affiliates, as opposed to just punishing operators. The Japanese regulators also sent official requests to 8 foreign jurisdictions to block Japanese users from their sites. These include:

• Canada (Kahnawake Gaming Authority)
• Costa Rica
• Georgia
• Malta Gaming Authority
• Isle of Man
• Gibraltar
• Curacao
• Anjouan Island
• Comoros

The police estimated that players spent up to JPZ 1.24 trillion (USD 8.6 billion) a year on online casino games, and that the majority of these operators held foreign licenses. Of the nearly 40 online casinos expressly targeted by the Japanese authority, nearly 70% were based in Curacao, and only 2 explicitly stated that Japanese players were restricted. Six of the sites were specifically aimed at Japanese gamers.

Apart from the affiliate site being arrested, there have been no major publicized cases of players or affiliates getting punished.

Concerns with Problem Gambling

Right now, all online casino play in Japan is considered a criminal offence. It is described in the Penal Code Articles 185 and 186, and these laws also define online casinos based in foreign jurisdictions (with functional licenses) officially as black market ventures. There are no licensed online casinos in Japan, and part of the ongoing campaign is to make this clear to Japanese players. A recent study by the NPA on over 27,000 people nationwide found that:

• 3.5% engaged in online gambling
• Extrapolated to the whole country, this is around 3.37 million people
• 46% of people who gambled have ended up in debt at least once
• 40% of people who gambled stated they were unaware that it is illegal in Japan
• 5% of people who gambled are aged 10 to 19

Naturally, the country wants to tackle the illegal activity not just because it is losing money to these foreign operators, but also to promote the well being of players.

Japanese iGaming Market Right Now

It goes without question that Japan has a huge appetite for online gaming, it is only second to China in the Asian iGaming sector. The legal gambling landscape, however, remains very narrow and highly restricted. Few online real money games are actually legal in Japan. These include:

Public Sports:

• JRA Horse Racing
• Keirin Cycling
• Kyotei Motorboat Racing
• Auto Racing (Auto Race)
• Football (toto products)

National Lottery & Takarakuji Products:

• Standard lotteries
• Scratch games
• Numbers-based draws

Pachinko & Pachislot:

• Technically categorized as “amusement,” but widely understood as soft gambling due to prize exchange mechanisms

Any iGaming operator that provides slots, live casino games, RNG table games, or any other type of skill based or pure chance game that is not listed above, is technically illegal in Japan. Sports betting is legal, yet very restricted. You are only allowed to bet on sports, but only those that are defined as “public sports”, and only at recognized operators.

Betting on football is legal, but only via Toto football pools. Other popular sports in Japan, like baseball and basketball, do not have official channels for sports bettors.

The classic Japanese game of Pachinko is not considered gambling. It has a historic place in Japan’s culture, and these games can be found all over the country, run by private companies. Other popular Asian games like Mahjong or Sic Bo, however, are considered gambling and not legal.

MGM Osaka (2030) and Landbased Gaming

Limiting the market is not the only area Japan is focused on. Japan is awaiting the opening of its first legal landbased casino, MGM Osaka, a process which has been ongoing since 2018. Japan launched a bill in 2018 authorizing three legal integrated casino resort licenses, which were distributed to Osaka, Tokyo and Yokohama. The conditions of the legally recognized licensed landbased casinos would be that Japanese nationals could only visit the casinos:

• Three times a week
• Ten times a month
• They are charged a JPY 6,000 entrance fee to help discourage addiction

While Japanese players would be allowed into the landbased casinos, they would be heavily discouraged from frequenting them regularly. The resorts are therefore intended more toward boosting Japanese tourism. Osaka was the first to launch its request for an IR license in 2019. 5 companies applied for the license, and MGM Resorts won the bid and announced its MGM Osaka resort.

Construction began in April 2025, and the casino resort is set to feature a 2,300 room hotel, dining options, a 3,500 seat theatre, a convention space and also a casino games floor. It will debut in 2030, and MGM Osaka is expected to house a whopping 470+ gaming tables, as well as 6,400 slots machines. At those numbers, it would be one of the biggest casinos in the world, and easily rival the largest casinos in Asia, including Macau, Singapore and the Philippines.

How It Affects Other Asian Countries

Japan’s approach here is not to get rid of casino gaming, but to tackle unregulated gaming platforms and operators. The IR model gives the government control over taxation, access, and the welfare of Japanese gamers. Japan is not the only Asian country that is in the middle of a battle against unregulated casinos. South Korea, which has famously some of the strictest anti-online casino laws, is also constantly blocking foreign websites and enforcing large restrictions on players. The Philippines has also increased its campaign against offshore operators in the past few years, and online casino gaming remains highly regulated in many other Asian countries.

Going a bit further, India recently imposed an outright iGaming ban, which also impacted real money skill based operators, such as DFS, poker, rummy, and others. However, that may not be the end of the story, as recent updates suggest India may allow skill based games, as these will need to be redefined by the courts.

What remains to be seen now is whether other countries will follow Japan’s model and aim their campaigns at players and affiliates as well, or whether this entire project will create a market backlash. Restricting players from their favorite games and gambling ventures has seen upticks in black market activity. Japan will be an interesting case for the iGaming community and players from all over the world to follow.