Japan Reaches Out to Overseas Regulators, Asking for Assistance in Curbing Illegal Gambling

Japan has been adamant in its opposition to online gambling, seeing it as a societal ill, but also as something that undermines its plans for a trio of integrated resorts – the first of which is the MGM Osaka.

To curb the reach of illegal operators (i.e., companies not licensed in the country), Japan is now reaching out to overseas gambling authorities, asking them to go after the companies that encourage such gambling locally.

Japan Calls for International Cooperation to Limit Illegal Gambling

Japan is, according to reports, reaching out to officials in places such as Canada, Costa Rica, Georgia, Malta, Anjouan, Curacao, the Isle of Man, and Gibraltar, and asking them to step up and go after operators that have been promoting to Japanese players.

Online casinos and sportsbooks are prohibited in the country, but this has not stopped overseas operators from continuing to bombard locals with various ads. Even in cases when a VPN is necessary to access the website, these operators have continued to provide their services.

Japan’s law enforcement has been going after prominent celebrities at home, lambasting them over their use of such platforms, but the country has now realized that a wider approach is necessary to achieve the desired results.

It is not clear if such international cooperation may yield the expected outcomes; however, as foreign regulators would be hard-pressed to track down and verify every operator that targets Japanese players but, say, bases its licensing in Curacao. It’s not just a matter of goodwill – it’s also tied to scant resources.

Japan is not the only country to have demanded this as well. Australia has been actively reaching out overseas, hoping to achieve similar results, but with a limited track record so far.