Japan’s National Police Agency (NPA) and Consumer Affairs Agency have declared the criminalization of offshore online gaming sites. Users of such can be arrested.
The two agencies in October issued this warning: “Have you ever heard that using online casinos as an individual is legal as long as the site is operated legally overseas? Even if an online casino is operated legally overseas, connecting from within Japan and then gambling on the site is illegal. There is precedence of arresting online casino users for gambling-related crimes. Gambling is a crime. Stay away.”
The warning includes examples of users being arrested for gambling on home computers. The penalty for such violations can be as high as JPY500,000 (US$3,380) or up to three years in prison.
