According to reports from multiple Japanese media outlets, due to the rapid spread of overseas online gambling activities in Japan, the Japanese government has officially requested eight countries and regions, including Canada, Malta, and Curaçao, to prohibit licensed gambling websites from providing services to Japanese citizens.
Although Japanese law strictly prohibits online gambling, in recent years, including public figures, many people have been exposed to participating in overseas gambling, and related platforms often operate in Japanese, which easily attracts domestic users. The government believes this has fueled illegal gambling activities and has requested relevant jurisdictions to take intervention measures.
The eight notified areas are Canada, Costa Rica, Georgia, Malta, Anguilla, Curaçao, Manus Island, and Gibraltar.
Reports indicate that many Japanese users easily access these overseas gambling websites through smartphones, and the public's lack of awareness of their illegality has led to a surge in young users. The government expects to soon pass amendments to the "Basic Law on Countermeasures Against Gambling Addiction," which will prohibit online gambling advertising and will formally propose international cooperation requirements after the law is passed.
An investigation commissioned by the Japanese National Police Agency shows that about 3.37 million people use illegal online casinos, with an annual total betting amount of 12 trillion yen (about 650 billion Hong Kong dollars), of which about 40% of respondents are unaware that this act is illegal. An analysis of 40 gambling websites offering services in Japanese found that all operators are licensed overseas institutions, with seventy percent coming from Curaçao, and only two websites explicitly prohibit Japanese users from accessing.
In addition, the police are also cracking down on "payment agents" and "gambling promotion alliances," which are intermediary organizations that provide financial flows and promotional services between users and platforms, considered an important part of the illegal gambling chain. The government is strengthening multi-faceted regulation to curb this trend of cross-border crime.
