Online Casinos and the TV Industry A Growing Hidden Crisis

The illegal online casino issue, which spread to the sports world after the activity hiatus of Yoshimoto Daisuke (40) from “Daitaku” and Nakamura Shun (31) from “9-Bangai Retro,” still shows no signs of settling.

“It is believed that the revelation began in January when a gossip influencer exposed the issue on social media, but it seems to have started earlier. Last summer, Weekly Bunshun reported that there was a financial dispute between Yoshimoto Daisuke from ‘Daitaku’ and a female fan. According to the article, the female fan claimed she had lent Yoshimoto 30 million yen, but he denied it. The financial dispute was supposedly resolved, and ‘Daitaku’ participated in the ‘M-1 Grand Prix’ finals in December of last year,” said a theater insider.

Although the financial issue was resolved, it was later discovered during the investigation that Nakmura Shun had been involved in online gambling. The investigation began after his management, Yoshimoto, consulted with the police.

On April 3, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police sent six Yoshimoto entertainers, including Yoshimoto Daisuke and Nakamura Shun, to the prosecutors.

“For the police, this was a major opportunity to bring the online gambling issue to the public’s attention. They examined Yoshimoto Daisuke and Nakmura Shun’s phone history, and I heard they questioned every entertainer who had interacted with them regarding online gambling,” said a mid-level comedian.

Among the entertainers questioned were “Reiwa Roman” member Kuruma Takahira (30) and “Toro Salmon” member Kazunobu Kubota (45), both M-1 champions, as reported by Mainichi Shimbun. Kubota was soon cleared, but Kuruma decided to take a break from activities. Later, “Danbiramucho” member Yuichi Ohara (35) also announced that he would take time off in March and April for personal reasons, later being sent to prosecutors on April 3.

As a result of this online gambling scandal, the TV industry has become more cautious about casting gambling-loving talent.

“With sponsors pulling away, public gambling, like horse racing, has become a savior for TV networks. Gambling-loving trash comedians used to be acceptable, and they were a valuable presence that could entertain audiences while keeping sponsors happy. This is a blow. Until the online gambling issue dies down, gambling-related projects are being put on hold,” said a TV writer.

Surprisingly clean

On the other hand, there are voices defending the situation, saying, “Talents primarily working in gambling-related jobs are clean” (advertising agency insider).

“Gambling-related companies hire talents to improve their image. Because of this, they conduct more thorough background checks compared to other industries. They meticulously investigate any connections with antisocial forces. Since the rigging incident in boat racing in 2020, talents appearing on prediction programs have been prohibited from socializing with the athletes in their personal lives. Occasionally, female talents may end up dating public sports athletes, but if this is discovered, they are told, ‘If you continue the relationship, we can no longer offer you work.’ Yoshimoto Dai from ‘Daitaku’ was also involved in gambling-related work, but it was not his main focus. He was involved in a wide range of gambling events, from pachinko to keirin and boat racing, but in a guest capacity, so it seems he wasn’t subjected to such strict background checks” (same source).

According to the National Police Agency, the number of online casino users exceeds 3 million. Can the television industry escape this massive swamp?

From the April 4/11, 2025 issue of “FRIDAY”