Japan Alarmed over Rise in Gambling Addiction Fueled by Online Casinos

According to a report by The Japan Times, online gambling addiction in Japan has become a serious problem, particularly in the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. The Society Concerned about Gambling Addiction, a public interest organization based in Tokyo, has reported an 11-fold increase in consultation requests received in 2024.

Japanese Organization Reports Huge Increase in Online Gambling Addiction

The organization has also highlighted the troubling trend of individuals resorting to illegal part-time jobs (called “yami baito” in Japanese) to finance their gambling activities. Noriko Tanaka, head of the association, expressed concerns over the current situation in which many people are addicted to gambling and commit illegal activities. “Illegal online casinos must be eradicated,” Tanaka said.

Between January and November of last year, the Society Concerned about Gambling Addiction received 91 consultation requests concerning family members gambling on online casinos. For comparison, before the COVID-19 pandemic, only eight such cases were reported.

The overall rise in the number of gambling addicts is not unique to Japan. Illegal online gambling in South Korea has soared since the COVID-19 pandemic and has not come down.

According to the organization, online casinos play a huge role in the increase of gambling addiction. This is because said casinos allow players to gamble 24 hours a day in the comfort of their homes using smartphones, making the practice much easier and more ubiquitous.

The Society Concerned about Gambling Addiction conducted a survey according to which a large number of people addicted to gambling have engaged in criminal activities.

A bit over 30% of the 681 respondents to the survey acknowledged that their family members addicted to gambling had committed acts like embezzlement and theft. The previously-mentioned illegal part-time jobs, or yami baito, have also seen a significant rise among those addicted to gambling.

How Has this Impacted Addicts and their Families?

One particular case saw the son of a woman in her 60s become addicted to gambling in high school by playing pachinko and other games. The woman reported her son frequently changed jobs to fuel his addiction and later began to extort money from her.

He told his mother that he would commit a crime if she did not send him money. She has sent him about JPY10 million (around $63,500) by her own estimate. Her son still applied for a yami baito job and was arrested for robbery resulting in injury.

An official from the association explained that gambling addicts may cause serious damage not only to themselves but also to their families and colleagues if they are left without help. “When gambling addiction progresses, it becomes difficult to control one’s behavior,” the official said.

The Society Concerned about Gambling Addiction has implored the authorities to strengthen the crackdowns on payment services operators related to online casinos.