Japan passes bill to ban online casino ads
The revised law will be promulgated by the end of this month.
Japan.- The House of Councillors, the upper chamber of the Japanese parliament, has approved a bill to amend the Basic Law for Countermeasures against Gambling Addiction to ban promoting online casinos in the country.
The bill, passed by the House of Representatives earlier in the month, is expected to be promulgated by the end of this month and will come into effect three months later. The new legislation bans banner ads, ranking and recommendation sites and posts on social media that promote online casinos. It also requires authorities to raise awareness of the illegality of online casinos.
The law doesn’t impose clear criminal penalties but encourages internet service providers and social media operators to delete illegal ads and affiliate websites. A hotline commissioned by the National Police Agency to monitor harmful information, is expected to issue requests.
In May, the Council for Sports Ecosystem Promotion (C-SEP) reported that bettors in Japan wagered about JPY6.45tn (US$45bn) on offshore sports betting sites in 2024, including JPY1tn (US$6.94bn) on domestic sports.
An estimated JPY528bn (US$3.68bn) was wagered on pro baseball, JPY333.4bn (US$2.32bn) on soccer and JPY87bn (US$606m) on basketball, according to estimates from The Council for Sports Ecosystem Promotion (C-SEP). In March, the National Police Agency (NPA) said 3.37 million people in the country had gambled at online casinos, spending around JPY1.24tn (US$8.4bn) annually.
