Japan Goes on the Offensive in Bid to Restrict Online Gambling

The looming arrival of MGM Osaka, Japan’s first integrated resort, has been marked by heightened preparatory activity. One of the pillars of this has been the hardline stance Japan has adopted against the illegal online market, and specifically online casinos.

The country has shown little leniency and unprecedented zeal for holding ordinary citizens accountable for placing bets and gambling at overseas platforms that are not allowed to legally operate in the country.

Breaking the Law Costs Japanese Gamblers

While going after the platforms themselves has been on the government’s agenda, targeting local citizens has proven swifter. Now, though, Japan has issued requests to eight jurisdictions to block access to locally-based websites to Japanese residents and individuals connecting from Japan.

It’s a crime to gamble at such websites, even though many have purposefully created an appealing offer in the Japanese language and yen as the native currency to often convince unsuspecting residents that they are gambling with a legitimate website.

Japan has put the onus on users to be aware of such scams; however, with 3 million people in the country actively engaging with overseas websites.

These websites, caution authorities, are easily accessible through desktop computers, laptops, as well as handheld devices such as tablets and smartphones, and they are operating out of jurisdictions such as Canada, Costa Rica, Georgia, Malta, Anjouan Island in the Comoros, Curacao of the Netherlands and the Isle of Man and Gibraltar.

Japan has already formally reached out to local authorities and regulators in a bid to shutter the Japanese-facing operations of these illegal websites.

The country has analyzed 40 online gambling sites – specifically casinos – that have been targeting the country, with the majority of them registered in Curacao.

Japan Demands that Regulators Overseas Step Up

Japan has not been the only jurisdiction to have openly complained about Curacao-based operators, with Australia also chiming in and asking the local regulators to weigh in on the issue.

A total of $8.6 billion may have been wagered on the websites based abroad. Out of the websites analyzed, only two explicitly said that access from Japan is prohibited, with the rest not making mentions of the legality of play from the country.

Apart from banning online casinos by law, Japan is now making sure that its citizens are also held accountable if they break the law.