Nine Policemen in Japan Have Been Accused of Illegal Gambling

The Hyogo Prefectural Police in Japan have forwarded cases involving nine male officers, who are mainly in their 20s and 30s, to prosecutors over suspected illegal online casino gambling conducted outside working hours.

Officers Found to Have Gambled

According to the police department’s inspection office, six of the nine were assigned to the same police station. One of them – a senior police officer in his 20s – allegedly accessed an online casino website on his smartphone between December last year and June this year, placing more than 3,000 bets and spending a total of about JPY 5 million (about $32,000). The senior officer reportedly learned about the site from another officer in his 20s. 

The other three include a senior police officer in his 30s who was assigned to the criminal investigation bureau at the police department’s headquarters in Kobe, the prefectural capital. A headquarters-based inspector in his 40s was also among the suspected officers.

The police department disciplined the men by imposing penalties such as six-month suspensions for drinking alcohol or playing pachinko during work hours. Supervisors of the officers were also subject to disciplinary action. Koichi Tsuchiyama, chief of the inspection office, said the department would step up ethics education for its personnel in light of the large number of officers punished for irregularities.

What’s the State of Gambling in Japan?

In Japan, most forms of gambling are generally prohibited under Chapter 23 of the Criminal Code. However, there are several exceptions, including betting on horse racing and certain motor sports. Public sports events, lotteries, and toto are conducted under special laws, both to generate revenue for national and local governments, and to provide entertainment.

Additionally, there are four types of racing that people are legally allowed to bet on: horse racing, bicycle racing, powerboat racing, and asphalt speedway motorcycle racing. These activities are permitted under special legislation and are regulated either by local governments or government-affiliated organizations.

Pachinko is a big part of the limited gambling scene in Japan. It is a pinball-like slot machine game that is not officially classified as gambling because Japanese law exempts it from the Criminal Code due to historical, monetary, and cultural reasons. In the game, when a player’s ball lands in a special hole, it can trigger the slot machine and result in a jackpot, awarding the player with additional balls.

These balls can then be exchanged for prizes of varying value at a booth within the parlor. Direct cash prizes are prohibited under the criminal code. However, players often exchange their pachinko balls for special tokens, which can then be “sold” for cash at nearby shops, which are often also owned by the pachinko parlors.

While gambling is severely limited in Japan, the country seems to be making some steps to allow for more traditional casino games. Recently, Japan’s Tourism Board announced it will be accepting applications from local governments that are interested in developing integrated resort areas that feature casinos.