The East Asian nation of Japan has a serious addiction to online gambling, even though it is outlawed there.
Although casino gambling was just recently allowed in Japan, the nation's first gaming resort, MGM Osaka, a $8.9 billion project, has not yet opened. Provincial lotteries, public sports betting on horse and motorsports racing, and the arcade-style game pachinko are still the only legal gambling options.
Despite being prohibited by Japan's National Diet, online gambling is nonetheless a booming industry. Numerous internet casinos that are based in other nations, including as Malta and the Isle of Man, are accessible to Japanese citizens.
Although internet service providers in Japan have complied with the government's request to block specific gambling websites, it is hard to completely ban the constantly growing list of illicit iGaming platforms.
As a result, the Tokyo-based government of Japan is contacting significant offshore gambling markets and requesting that authorities order the termination of their access to the Land of the Rising Sun.
Japan's Request
In order to specifically prohibit websites and applications from providing unregulated gaming and betting within the nation, Japan reinforced its anti-online gambling law in June. Penalties for those discovered to run such unlawful gaming enterprises were also raised by the Basic Act on Measures Against gaming amendment.
Since the majority of websites are run from outside of Japan, companies who continue to permit access to their products run the risk of facing legal action. Government officials have reportedly contacted gaming regulators in Canada, Costa Rica, Georgia, Malta, Anjouan, Curacao, the Isle of Man, and Gibraltar to request that they stop accepting Japanese players at their registered iGaming operators in order to better enforce the legislation.
Japan is particularly concerned about virtual private networks, or VPNs. VPNs let users to conceal their actual location when using the internet, and they are frequently used by users in regions where iGaming is prohibited to gain access to legitimate online gambling sites.
Will There Be More Casino Bids in Japan?
In 2018, Japan's Diet approved a maximum of three casino resorts. Only one casino is being built more than seven years later.
The permits for the other two casinos have not yet been granted. Prefectures must first declare their interest in hosting a multibillion-dollar integrated resort casino before the nation opens a second round of bidding, according to a June report by Casino.org.
Other than Osaka, the only bid Japan received was from the Prefecture of Nagasaki. A proposal worth over $3 billion was put out by Casinos Austria for a massive resort casino in Sasebo's Huis Ten Bosch Dutch theme park. Due to financial concerns, the project was rejected by Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism in December 2023.
The biggest casino operators in the world, including as Caesars Entertainment, Wynn Resorts, Melco Resorts, and Las Vegas Sands, formerly showed interest in Japan. The majority of operators folded on the upcoming market as a result of Japan's arduously drawn-out legislative process to approve its regulatory guidelines.
Japanese citizens were required to pay an entrance charge in order to enter the casinos. For a 24-hour period, anyone in the nation must pay ¥6,000 (US$41). The purpose of the toll is to reduce problem gambling.
