{"id":777029223,"date":"2025-07-18T13:58:18","date_gmt":"2025-07-18T16:58:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/?p=777029223"},"modified":"2026-04-21T20:51:33","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T23:51:33","slug":"japan-sets-date-for-advertising-ban-on-offshore-online-casinos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/japan-sets-date-for-advertising-ban-on-offshore-online-casinos","title":{"rendered":"Japan sets date for advertising ban on offshore online casinos"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Foreign online casino promotions aimed at Japanese users will be considered illegal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Japan.- Last month, the House of Councillors passed a bill to ban online casinos ads in Japan. It’s now been reported that the ban will be enforced from September 25. The ban includes posts on social media, banner ads and video content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The National Police Agency (NPA) will collaborate with the Internet Hotline Centre to request the takedown of content that guides users to illegal gambling platforms. Requests will be sent to domestic and international operators, social media platforms and hosting providers. Websites that claim to offer \u201cfree\u201d gaming could also face removal if judged to promote illegal gambling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the NPA, an estimated 3.37 million people in Japan have accessed online casino sites, and more than 70 per cent of them have placed real-money bets. Annual wagers on these platforms are thought to reach \u00a51.2tn (US$7.5bn). Although many of these sites are legally licensed in jurisdictions like Cura\u00e7ao, Malta, and the Isle of Man, Japanese law deems any gambling service directed at domestic users illegal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new law classifies gambling-related content as \u201cillegal information,\u201d expanding the scope of the Internet Hotline Centre, which currently handles reports on child abuse and drug-related content. Cyber patrols will also be intensified to detect and flag violative material.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Japan has already contacted authorities in eight countries and regions, including Canada, Costa Rica, and Gibraltar, urging them to help block Japanese access to these platforms or prevent operators from accepting bets from Japan. A government panel is reviewing possible tools, including website blocking and the use of content filters on smartphones.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n\t\t\tSee also:<\/span><\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tSee also:<\/span> Japan passes bill to ban online casino ads<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Foreign online casino promotions aimed at Japanese users will be considered illegal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":680,"featured_media":16116,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"is_press_release":false,"is_interview":false,"is_opinion":false,"focusai_summary":"Japan has enacted a ban on online casino promotions targeting its domestic users, effective September 25, classifying such content as 'illegal information.' The National Police Agency and Internet Hotline Centre will enforce takedowns from operators and platforms, irrespective of their international licensing. This move aims to curb an estimated \u00a51.2tn (US$7.5bn) in annual illegal online wagers by Japanese citizens.","focusai_entities":"National Police Agency, Internet Hotline Centre","focusai_location":"Japan, Cura\u00e7ao, Malta, Isle of Man, Canada, Costa Rica, Gibraltar","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (0.9), regulator (1.0), compliance_legal (1.0), operator_casino (1.0), affiliate_publisher (1.0), product_ux (0.7), tech_data (0.9), marketing_crm (1.0), payments_fraud_aml (0.9), investor_analyst (0.9), supplier_vendor (0.7), journalist_researcher (1.0)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"Enforcement Mechanisms?","query":"What specific technological and legal mechanisms will Japan employ to enforce cross-border content takedowns and geo-blocking against internationally licensed operators?"},{"label":"Platform Liability Impact?","query":"How will this expanded definition of 'illegal information' impact the liability of social media platforms and hosting providers operating within and outside Japan?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[16338,154],"tags":[24634,470,24828],"class_list":["post-777029223","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-east-asia-news","category-legislation-news","tag-illegal-online-gambling","tag-japan","tag-law-enforcement"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777029223","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/680"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=777029223"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777029223\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":777029250,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777029223\/revisions\/777029250"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=777029223"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777029223"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777029223"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}