Japan tightens rules against offshore gambling by banning promotion of overseas casinos

Japan’s parliament has passed a bill tightening rules against offshore gambling, including banning the promotion of overseas online casinos.

The revised legislation, approved by the Upper House on Wednesday, prohibits advertising and promotional content that encourages users in Japan to access foreign-based online casinos, the Japan Times reported.

Although many of these platforms operate legally in jurisdictions such as Curaçao, Japanese law still deems it a criminal offense to use them from within the country. The new legislation reinforces this stance by outlawing efforts to direct domestic users to such platforms, regardless of the casino’s legal status abroad.

The revision to the law on countermeasures against gambling addiction is expected to come into effect three months after its official promulgation later this month. It criminalizes the operation of online casinos and related apps in Japan and bars a wide array of promotional activities — including banner ads, influencer endorsements, “top 10” rankings, affiliate links, and social media posts that generate interest in online gambling.

While the law does not introduce explicit criminal penalties, it makes promotional activity clearly illegal. This paves the way for internet service providers and social media companies to remove violating content more aggressively. The National Police Agency (NPA) said the law will serve as a deterrent and help suppress access to illegal gambling content.

The Internet Hotline Center, working with the NPA, will label such content as “illegal information” and begin issuing takedown requests. Enforcement guidelines will be published before the law comes into force.

An estimated 3.37 million people in Japan have used illegal online casinos, with wagers totaling around ¥1.2 trillion ($8.3 billion) annually. Despite operating legally in other jurisdictions, accessing these sites from Japan violates domestic law.

The NPA has asked foreign regulators, including those in jurisdictions such as Malta, the Isle of Man, andCuraçao, to block access from Japan, remove Japanese-language interfaces, and display warnings about the illegality of use from Japan.

Authorities are especially concerned about gambling among the youth. Surveys show only 40% of users know online casino gambling is illegal, with awareness lowest among people in their. Officials blame misleading ads, celebrity endorsement, and false claims about a legal “gray zone” for fueling a false sense of legality.

Additionally, the NPA plans to distribute 100,000 informational leaflets in collaboration with delivery services and other partners. Data showed that while many users begin by playing free games, roughly 75% eventually wager real money — a trend officials hope to curb through visibility reduction and stricter regulation.

To further stem access, the agency is considering technical measures such as blocking access to overseas casino websites. However, such action raises concerns about infringing on constitutionally protected privacy in communications. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications has launched a panel of legal experts to assess the viability of this option.