🇯🇵Japan gambling regulation

Legal framework at a glance

Gambling is a crime under Japan’s Penal Code unless a special law authorises it. Special laws permit public betting on horse racing (keiba), bicycle racing (keirin), boat racing and motorcycle racing, run by public bodies or local governments, as well as lotteries (takarakuji) and the toto football lottery. These public sectors also offer online betting through their own platforms. Pachinko operates under amusement business law and is not legally classed as gambling.

The Integrated Resort Implementation Act of 2018 allows a limited number of casino resorts. Osaka’s IR, developed by an MGM Resorts and ORIX-led consortium on Yumeshima island, was approved in 2023, began construction in 2025 and is targeted to open around 2030. No other IR has been approved.

Online casino is illegal. A 2025 amendment to the Basic Act on Gambling Addiction Countermeasures, enacted in June 2025, made it clear that opening and operating online casino sites and apps is illegal, and banned steering people to overseas online casinos through ads, affiliate sites and social media posts. It took effect around three months after promulgation.

The regulators

• Casino Regulatory Commission: supervises IR casino operators and their employees.
• Public betting: overseen by the relevant ministries, such as agriculture for horse racing and land and transport for boat racing.
• Police: enforce the Penal Code against illegal gambling, including players using offshore sites.

Licensing

There is no licence for online casino. IR casinos require a licence from the Casino Regulatory Commission and are subject to strict probity checks. See gambling licensing models.

Online products — what is and isn’t legal

Product	Status
Online casino and poker	Prohibited
Online betting on public racing	Allowed through public bodies
Sports lottery (toto) and takarakuji	State-authorised monopoly
IR casino (land-based)	Licensed; first expected around 2030

Taxation

Public betting proceeds fund national and local government. IR casinos will pay a 30% levy on gross gaming revenue, split between national and host governments. Japanese residents will pay a JPY 6,000 entry levy per visit. See gambling taxation compared.

Advertising and marketing rules

The 2025 amendment targets the promotion of online casinos, including affiliate websites and social media content. The amendment itself has no penal provisions; instead, internet providers and platforms are expected to remove such content, assisted by the Internet Hotline Center. IR casino advertising will be tightly restricted. See gambling advertising rules.

Player-protection requirements

IR casinos will limit Japanese residents to three visits a week and ten in 28 days, verified by My Number card, and must offer exclusion at the request of individuals and families. Public betting bodies run access-restriction schemes and responsible gambling messaging. See self-exclusion in Japan.

Enforcement against unlicensed operators

Police have arrested players and affiliates linked to offshore online casinos. The National Police Agency estimates about 3.37 million people in Japan have used illegal online casinos, wagering around JPY 1.2 trillion a year. Measures under discussion include site blocking and asking card companies to halt payments. See payment blocking and ISP blocking.

What this means for players

Because no online casino can be licensed in Japan, any site offering casino games to people in Japan is illegal, however it presents itself. Overseas licences, Japanese-language support and celebrity or influencer promotion do not change this. Players who use such sites risk prosecution under the Penal Code, have no Japanese regulator to help if withdrawals are refused, and may expose personal and card data to unregulated companies. Police have arrested both players and promoters in recent years.

People who are worried about their gambling, whether on offshore sites, public racing apps or pachinko, can get free help from prefectural mental health and welfare centres and from the gambling consultation line, and families can seek support in their own right. See spotting unlicensed and black-market operators, gambling blocking software and supporting a partner or family member.

Integrated resorts in brief

Feature	Detail
Approved projects	Osaka only (MGM Resorts and ORIX-led consortium)
Location	Yumeshima, Osaka Bay
Target opening	Around 2030
Gaming area	Limited to a small share of total floor space
Resident entry levy	JPY 6,000 per visit
Resident visit limits	3 per week, 10 per 28 days

Pachinko

Pachinko and pachislot halls are licensed under the amusement business law and, in principle, award prizes rather than cash. In practice players exchange prizes for cash at nearby independent counters, a long-standing arrangement that keeps pachinko outside the legal definition of gambling while making it one of the main sources of gambling-related harm in Japan. Industry self-declaration programmes allow players and families to request limits. See gambling disorder explained.

Recent developments and what to watch

• Online casino promotion ban: how effectively platforms remove ads and affiliate content.
• Blocking: whether Japan adopts ISP blocking, which raises constitutional questions about communications secrecy.
• Osaka IR: construction progress toward the targeted opening.

For support services, see the Japan help directory. This page is general information, not legal advice.