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Read Full BioThe lower house of the Japanese Parliament has voted in favor of a proposal to toughen crackdowns on illegal online casinos and affiliates who promote betting websites.
The news agency Kyodo News reported that the House of Representatives voted in favor of an amendment to the Basic Law on Countermeasures against Gambling Addiction.
The new rules will grant law enforcement agencies and courts additional powers to shut down and block gambling-related websites.
The bill has now passed to the upper house of the National Diet, the House of Councillors. The house is set to fast-track a vote in the coming days.
Japanese Parliament Ready to Give Police New Powers
Most forms of online betting are prohibited in Japan. However, the majority of online casinos targeting Japanese customers are based overseas.
Police think 70% of Japanese-language online casinos are based in the Caribbean island nation of Curaçao.
The amendment will effectively criminalize accessing gambling websites from within Japan. Courts will gain the power to fine bettors using online casinos up to around $3,500.
The amendment also stipulates that repeat offenders can be punished with jail terms of up to three years.
Crackdowns on gambling in Japan have intensified this year. Last month, a 30-year-old civil servant in Kanagawa Prefecture was suspended for six months and docked pay for gambling on his smartphone while at work.
Police say the civil servant also leaked his colleagues’ data to “unregistered” loan sharks to raise money to fuel his gambling habits.
Additionally, a 38-year-old man was arrested for allegedly gambling as much as 28 billion yen ($194.4 million) through online casinos.
The suspect admitted the allegations, telling authorities: “News reports said there were hundreds of thousands of players in Japan, so I thought I was only the tip of the iceberg.”
3.37 Million Residents Have Used Illegal Gambling Sites, Say Police
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s Cabinet signed off on the new amendment back in March this year. However, it has since been refined as police intensify their efforts against illegal betting.
Last month, some of the country’s top firms reported that Japanese residents are now spending approximately $44.2 billion on sports betting annually.
The National Police Agency has estimated that, to date, around 3.37 million Japanese people have visited online casinos this year. Citizens have placed bets worth some 1.2 trillion yen ($8.2 billion), police explained. The country has also been rocked by several recent betting scandals involving professional baseball players and TV personalities.
The new measures also include clauses related to social media platforms operating in Japan, such as YouTube and Instagram.
The bill gives police and courts the power to order these platforms to delete content that directs Japanese web users to gambling-related websites.
Additionally, the amendment requires Japanese administrative departments to step up public awareness campaigns. Such campaigns will help publicize the illegality of illegal gambling, lawmakers say.
Many defendants in gambling-related court cases have complained they were not aware that placing bets on overseas sites was a criminal offense.
Kyodo reported that both the ruling and opposition parties agreed that emergency measures were necessary to tackle the rise of gambling sites that court Japanese residents.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, meanwhile, has launched an expert task force.
The new unit has been tasked with drafting new countermeasures to combat the rise of overseas-based casinos.
The ministry is reportedly considering measures such as forcing Japanese IP providers to block users’ access to gambling websites.
