Japan’s lower house approves bill to ban online casinos
The proposed legislation bans the promotion of online casino sites.
Japan.- Japan’s House of Representatives has approved a bill to amend the Basic Law for Countermeasures against Gambling Addiction that would ban operating and promoting online casinos in the country. The legislation passed with a majority vote and will now be debated in the House of Councillors.
It’s expected that the proposal will be enacted during the current parliamentary session. Both national and local governments would publicise the illegality of online casinos.
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.
Some players from professional baseball teams are facing legal action for gambling on online casinos. Nippon Professional Baseball has fined 16 people from eight teams a total of JPY 10.2m (US$75,175).
