Japan’s National Police Agency (NPA) reported a record increase in the number of online casino users in 2024, despite the ban on online gaming for the country’s citizens.

The past year set a new record for the number of online casino players and “dealers” in Japan since the police began recording statistics in 2018, with a total of 279 people identified and tracked.

Japan maintains strict legislation prohibiting most forms of gambling, except for public services like horse racing and some motor sports betting. This suggests that the identified users and “dealers” are likely using offshore platforms tailored to the Japanese market.

In 2024, the NPA recorded 162 online casino players and 117 dealers — both of which are record numbers for the country’s gambling statistics. Although only a few hundred iGaming users were officially identified, Japanese police estimate that the total number of players could be around three million.

According to a survey conducted by the Tokyo-based International Casino Institute, about 2.8% of 6,000 surveyed Japanese citizens admitted to having gambled on online casinos in the past 12 months.

Meanwhile, the Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun analyzed the total number of times 30 popular online casinos offering services in Japanese and other languages were accessed over the past year.

The publication found that these sites were accessed about 84 million times from Japan, with over 70% of those visits coming from smartphones and other mobile devices.

Since online gambling is illegal in Japan, identified online casino users face fines of up to ¥500,000 ($3500) and habitual players could face up to three years in prison.

Due to the use of online payment methods for funding gambling accounts on offshore platforms, the NPA has announced plans to increase control over payment service operators.

Despite the ban on most forms of gambling, it is expected that Japan may legalize casino resorts. According to reliable sources, Japanese officials have confirmed plans to build the country’s first resort in Osaka by 2029.

Source