The government of Japan is moving towards restricting online casinos throughout the islands.
The House of Representatives already passed a bill that would revise an existing law and restrict online gambling platforms anywhere inside the national border. The Liberal Democratic Party supported the bill, while the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan opposed it. The House of Councillors, the upper level of the national parliament, may not alter it.
The bill is expected to implement a restriction in the next few weeks if passed.
A survey released in March estimated that almost 3.4 million Japanese participate in online casino gaming. According to a 2023 census, that represents about 2.7 percent of the national population.
The online gaming community of the nation wagered about 1.24 trillion YEN. It translates to $8.7 billion yearly. This is close to $2,600 per person.
Since all forms of online gambling are illegal in Japan, that’s significant.
In mid-May, eight political parties and several parliamentary groups drafted and presented the anti-online casino bill. The bill would only eliminate these platforms, yet, it would also ban advertisements from linking customers to them.
The sweeping changes are relevant following a report released by the Society Concerned about Gambling Addiction in Tokyo. Even in spite of the global pandemic reducing the economic freedom of many around the globe, it showed that gambling consultations had increased at a rate of 11-to-1 from 2019 to 2024.
According to The Mainichi, Parliament has until the end of its session on June 22 to approve the bill.
BetBlocker has made it possible for locals to self-regulate by adding a Japanese language option as Japan fights to regulate its illicit online gambling industry.
The application helps problem gamblers quit by controlling and blocking access to gambling sites on their devices. It restricts users from accessing any gambling URLs listed in the company’s database.
