With the revised version of the "Basic Law on Countermeasures against Gambling Addiction" set to be officially implemented on September 25, the Japanese government is intensifying its crackdown on offshore online casinos targeting domestic users. The National Police Agency (NPA) has announced a new round of blocking actions against these platforms, including demands to remove related websites and advertisements, to curb the spread of illegal gambling activities.
According to the new law amendment passed in June this year, operating, promoting, or guiding users to access online casinos targeting the Japanese market, regardless of where their servers are located, is considered illegal. The police will cooperate with domestic and international internet service providers to forcibly block these websites and clean up advertising content.
The police will also expand cooperation with the Internet Hotline Center, extending the website monitoring mechanism originally focused on combating child pornography and drugs to include the online gambling sector, especially videos promoting casino content on platforms like YouTube.
It is noteworthy that the police have begun to develop updated enforcement guidelines, intending to list inducive terms such as "providing Japanese language support" and "highly recommended" as key targets for crackdown. Even if a platform claims to be "just for free entertainment" or "not real betting," once it is deemed to be indirectly promoting illegal gambling, it will also face penalties.
The latest data from the Japanese Public Management Agency shows that over 3.37 million people in the country have visited overseas casino platforms. The government hopes to send a clear message of "zero tolerance for online gambling" through this round of legal tightening and technical blocking, comprehensively strengthening the management and prevention of gambling addiction risks among residents.
