How Comedians Like Reiwa Roman’s Kuruma Takahira Fueled the Growth of Online Casinos

They actively exchanged information about money-making opportunities

“There are many voices calling for leniency towards Kuruma, who promptly apologized and voluntarily suspended his activities. More than four years have passed since he quit online casinos, and as lawyer Toru Hashimoto mentioned on a TV program, this case also seems to serve as a deterrent by the police. However, the fact that over ten Yoshimoto comedians are suspected of involvement is an unusual situation. One major reason why it spread so widely, especially among young comedians, is their daily lifestyle habits,” said a comedy industry insider.

This isn’t limited to Yoshimoto; comedians often perform at the same theaters or regional gigs, frequently working with the same people. Since they see each other daily, they tend to have strong connections and share trendy information with one another.

A recent example is the investment scandal involving Takeshi Kimoto of the comedy duo TKO, which was reported in 2022. It was revealed that he had collected billions of yen from multiple fellow comedians for forex trading and real estate investments. According to the same comedy industry insider:

“In Kimoto’s case, it was forex and real estate investments, but cryptocurrency is another typical example. Since relying solely on their comedy income feels financially uncertain in the long run, many comedians become deeply involved in side businesses like investments and gambling. In the dressing rooms at theaters, they frequently exchange information about money-making opportunities. But they often jump in without thoroughly considering whether something is a scam or even legal. So, it’s no surprise that online casino discussions spread among comedians.”

This suggests that there are industry-specific reasons behind comedians’ enthusiasm for investments.

“The so-called online casino comedians were interviewed by the police one after another from January to early February. Given how many of its members were involved, Yoshimoto should consider establishing an independent third-party committee to thoroughly investigate how online casinos became so widespread within the company and whether its response after receiving reports was appropriate. Yoshimoto isn’t just a comedy agency; it is deeply involved in the Osaka Expo and handles public projects as well,” said a national newspaper social affairs journalist.

In a YouTube video, comedian Hirofumi Suga of the duo Rozan emphasized that Yoshimoto had repeatedly conducted compliance training and had also warned about online casinos. Despite these efforts, this ‘scandal’ still happened.

Following Fuji TV, Yoshimoto’s governance is now under scrutiny as well.