The revised law, which stipulates that it is illegal to open and operate online casino sites and apps in Japan, will be promulgated by the end of this month and will come into effect three months after its promulgation.
Any act to attract people to overseas online casinos will be banned, such as posting online ads and running affiliate websites designed to promote online casinos and making posts on social media about information that would arouse people's interest in such gambling.
Although the revised law has no penal provisions, it is aimed at encouraging internet service providers and social media operators to delete such ads and affiliate websites by clearly stating the illegality of online gambling.
The Internet Hotline Center, which is commissioned by the National Police Agency (NPA) to monitor harmful information, is expected to issue requests to delete such content as illegal information.
According to an estimate by the NPA, some 3.37 million people in the country have used illegal online casinos, betting US$8.2bn in total annually. Most such of these sites are operated legally overseas, but betting with money from Japan through them constitutes a gambling offense under the Penal Code.
The NPA has asked the governments of the Dutch Caribbean island of Curacao and other countries that grant licenses to online casino operators for cooperation to stop services targeting Japanese nationals by removing explanations in Japanese from casino sites and stating on the screen that it is illegal for Japanese people to use them.
Source: Jiji Press
