POLICE CRACK DOWN ON RECORD NUMBER OF ONLINE GAMBLING CASES IN YEAR 2025 - TOKYO JAPAN

POLICE CRACK DOWN ON RECORD NUMBER OF ONLINE GAMBLING CASES IN YEAR 2025 - TOKYO JAPAN

@Jr_Paku Midin Channel

TOKYO

Japan saw a record 158 cases of illegal online gambling detected in 2025, up 103 from a year earlier, police data showed Thursday, as a string of high-profile cases raised awareness of their illegality and led to more reports.

The National Police Agency released the data following recent cases involving athletes and celebrities. Although many online casinos operate legally overseas, accessing them and placing bets from within Japan via smartphones and other devices is a criminal offense under Japanese law.

The uncovered cases involved 221 people, down from six a year earlier. There were 196 gamblers and 25 operators, such as payment agents handling bets and payouts for fees, and affiliates promoting casino sites on social media.

According to the agency, the overall total came to 165 online gambling cases involving 317 people when including cases in which bets were placed via terminals at retail shops.

Japan enacted a revised law last year to curb gambling addiction, prohibiting access to online casino sites and enabling authorities to seek the removal of related online content.

"Some sites are still accessible from Japan," NPA Commissioner General Yoshinobu Kusunoki said at a regular press conference. "We need to better understand the situation and strengthen crackdowns on illegal operators."

Separately, police launched investigations into 71 cases involving predatory host clubs in 2025, which is a decrease of 10 from a year earlier. The cases involved 143 people, a decrease of 64. These cases involved host clubs forcing female customers into prostitution or other work to pay off exorbitant bills.

The agency said that administrative actions taken under legislation regulating amusement and entertainment businesses totaled 251 cases, including five license revocations.

Last year, the government revised legislation to curb businesses that exploit customers' romantic feelings to encourage excessive spending. The legislation also prohibits businesses from forcing customers into prostitution or other sex industry work to repay debts.

Police cracked down on 142 human trafficking cases in 2025, up 46 from the previous year -- involving 78 people, up 21. In one case, Tokyo police arrested the operator of a private massage parlor for allegedly forcing a 12-year-old Thai girl into sex work.

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