Japanese players are still asking – “is it legal in Japan to play at online casinos” even though they all know that this activity is entirely legal in dozens of countries across the globe. The simple answer to this question is no. Still, there are some things that we should take into to understand the current status of online gambling in the Land of the Rising Sun and its future. GoodLuckMate has proven to be an excellent source for finding information regarding this topic.
The legal status of gambling in Japan – overview
Compared to many developed countries, Japan has very strict laws when it comes to gambling. Simply put, most forms of this activity are banned there. This is confirmed in the Criminal Code chapter 23, where article 185 states that individuals involved in gambling will be fined up to 500,000 yen. On the other hand, running a place for this purpose and making a profit is punishable by imprisonment for 3 months to 5 years.
But, like almost all rules, there are some exceptions, but they are still not related to conventional online gambling. In the last decade, efforts have been made by the gambling lobby to liberalize the laws. It seems that their efforts provided some results in 2018 when casino operators were given a chance to bid for three licenses to operate brick-and-mortar casino resorts in three cities in Japan, including Tokyo. For this purpose, the government created the Casino istration Committee in 2020.
What’s legal and what’s not?
We have already established that playing at online casinos in Japan is illegal. Yet, people are involved in similar activities without breaking the law. One of the favorite activities of many Japanese people is sports betting which they can conduct in land-based betting shops and online. that they can wager money only on public races. But even sports betting is limited because only four sports are considered: bicycle racing, horse racing, asphalt speedway motorcycle racing, and powerboat racing. It’s up to the local authorities and governmental agencies to regulate this form of betting. Generally, only parimutuel betting (with prize pools) is allowed.
Another interesting thing about Japan is that players can play lottery games. The so-called takarakuji are legal in many large cities and prefectures in the country. They are active all year. Players can purchase tickets in designated physical stores (ATMs included), but they can also do this online. The lottery games we mentioned include scratchcards too. Once again, the government has set strict rules regarding the games’ prize pool, ensuring that a significant amount of the money invested by the players is returned to the players.
Furthermore, we have the pachinko games. This pinball/slot machine mixture is becoming popular across the globe. Interestingly, the authorities don’t consider this a form of gambling, mostly because people have been playing this game for decades. There are special pachinko parlors where you can enjoy dozens of variants of this game. According to some stats, people in Japan spent over $250 billion on pachinko.
Can we expect Japan to legalize online casinos?
The answer to this question is essential to many gambling fans in Japan. They hope that the authorities will follow the examples of many other countries, including the United States, where the online gambling market has been booming in recent years after the legalization of this activity in six states.
Unfortunately, not everyone agrees. For example, the Japanese Prime Minister (Fumio Kishida) said that his government would punish all online casinos operating illegally in Japan. This comes from increasing evidence of illegal online casinos in this country, where players have spent millions of dollars. Also, they have found a way to trick the authorities by creating sites where they can win cash prizes while playing rock-paper-scissors with real money.
In our opinion, legalizing online casinos in Japan will eventually happen. When a country has such strict laws, but many people are interested in online gambling, it risks the rise of illegal activities. The same goes for land-based gambling. Illegal brick-and-mortar casinos operate across Japan thanks to Yakuza, the organized crime syndicate. They run secret facilities where people come to play blackjack, roulette, poker, slots, and other games with real money. They also use mahjong parlors for this purpose.
Since Japan follows the United States in many other things, we are convinced that they will follow their practice in making online gambling legal in the country too. This means that they might first allow this activity in a few prefectures to see how it goes. In addition, they will set strict laws and regulations to ensure that only licensed online casinos approved by the Japanese authorities can operate in their country. In this way, they can ensure that the money will keep circulating in Japan.