“We Thought It Was Legal”: The Hidden Reality Behind Japan’s Online Casino Crackdown

Even Fuji TV producers and announcers.

On June 23, Fuji TV producer Yoshitaka Suzuki (44), known for his work on the show Poka Poka, was arrested by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police on charges of habitual gambling. The following day, on June 24, announcer Kenta Yamamoto (27) was referred to prosecutors for simple gambling. Since the start of this year, reports of celebrities using online casinos (hereafter referred to as “on-kaji”) have continued to make headlines. So far, six comedians from Yoshimoto Kogyo have been referred to prosecutors, and in the world of professional baseball, players like Taisuke Yamaoka of the Orix Buffaloes and Rui Okoye and Daiki Masuda of the Yomiuri Giants have also been implicated.

Arrests related to online casinos are on the rise. According to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police’s published report “Status of Crackdowns on Online Gambling Offenses”, 279 people were arrested in 2024. This is a steep increase from 59 in 2022 and 107 in 2023—more than four times as many in just two years.

Before these widespread crackdowns, many people viewed on-kaji as a legal gray area. Regarding its legality, even players like Okoye and Masuda reportedly said things like, “I thought it was a gray area,” and “I didn’t think it was illegal.” But if it were truly gray, there wouldn’t be arrests. It seems many people were swayed by promotional claims that online casinos are low-risk and used them without realizing the consequences. This report explores the history and background of how on-kaji became popular in Japan.

 

There is no gray area anywhere

To get straight to the point—online casinos are not a gray area; they are illegal. According to the 2024 report “Legal Issues Surrounding Online Casinos” published by the Police Policy Society, it clearly states that within Japan, it constitutes a definite illegal act. It falls under Article 185 of the Penal Code (simple gambling), Article 186, Paragraph 1 (habitual gambling), and Paragraph 2 (profiting from opening a gambling venue).

Those who claim it’s a gray area usually base their reasoning on the following: “Gambling and profiting from gambling are only punishable when conducted domestically, so accessing a foreign online casino site and gambling there doesn’t constitute a domestic offense,” or “Gambling is a crime that requires a co-conspirator to be prosecuted, so if it’s legal in the other person’s country, no crime is committed.” However, regardless of the setup, using an online casino from within Japan is clearly illegal—it’s not gray in any way. There is no gray zone to be found.

By around 2012, Japanese-language online casino sites already existed, and it’s believed users were active even earlier. Later, online casino affiliate marketing emerged, and many affiliate bloggers began promoting these services. The typical commission model meant that as long as someone who signed up through an affiliate site continued to gamble, a portion of their betting money would be paid out to the affiliate as commission. This made it a popular affiliate product, to the point where there were even sites dedicated solely to online casino promotions.

Why the gray area theory was widely accepted until recently

A major turning point came during the period when the world was under the threat of COVID-19. Companies operating online casinos began using celebrities and influencers as the faces of their advertising campaigns to attract users.

Promotions featured well-known figures such as former ōzeki sumo wrestler Baruto, former professional soccer player Maya Yoshida, and former adult video actress Ai Uehara. Since using celebrities to promote casino sites is common overseas, these personalities likely accepted the offers without much hesitation. It’s not hard to imagine how users, seeing “If this person is endorsing it, it must be fine,” had their sense of risk dulled.

In addition, multiple TV and radio stations aired commercials for the free versions of overseas online casino sites. This also contributed to solidifying the public perception that online casinos existed in a gray area. The casinos themselves aggressively marketed to users with perks like cashback on deposits and bonus points usable for betting, boosting their appeal. As a result, user numbers surged. By 2021, several major sites were receiving over 10 million monthly visits, with Japan ranking third globally in terms of access.

As online casinos became widespread, they also gave rise to serious social issues—such as gambling addiction and individuals falling into debt and turning to illegal part-time jobs to survive. Yet until this situation became a full-blown problem, there were few crackdowns. That lack of enforcement strongly reinforced the belief that online casinos were a gray area.

In fact, as early as 2013, the Japanese government had issued an official statement saying that “as a general principle, if any part of a gambling act takes place within Japan, it may constitute a gambling offense.” However, enforcement and public awareness lagged far behind. It wasn’t until 2022 that the police, in cooperation with the Consumer Affairs Agency, launched the first public campaign declaring: “Gambling through online casinos is a crime!”

It’s impossible to stop—because you can do it anytime, anywhere.

A man in his 20s who previously used online casinos said he was drawn to the ability to gamble whenever he wanted—unlike slot machines or other forms of gambling.

“On weekdays, I can’t place bets because of work. There’s horse racing and boat racing, but if you ask whether I can do those during free moments, it’s tough because the time for buying tickets is limited. With online casinos, you can start from a single game, so I could play poker during spare time on the train or during lunch breaks.

And if you think of it as a way to earn money starting with small amounts, it feels like a dream. Even just playing for fun is enjoyable, but if you’re lucky, there’s a chance you could win a fortune big enough to let you live without working ever again. There was a time when I was so hooked, I’d play poker non-stop, even skipping sleep.”

In his case, the fact that he could deposit money anytime and anywhere via credit card further fueled his online casino addiction. “Even if you run out of points, you can immediately top up, and before you know it you’re saying, just one more time, just once more, and you can’t stop. Honestly, I don’t even know how much I spent,” he says, now regretting how deep he got into it.

With just a smartphone, online casinos let users gamble easily, almost like a game. Compared to traditional forms of gambling, the pace of each round is much faster, and since you can play 24 hours straight without sleep, it dramatically increases the risk of gambling addiction. Before you realize it, you could find yourself not with enough to live off for life, but saddled with debt so massive you couldn’t repay it in a lifetime.