Japanese Prime Minister Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has reminded citizens that online gaming is a crime in the country, and that illegal operators will be ousted.
As reported by Inside Asian Gaming, Kishida made the remarks June 1 at a budget committee meeting of the lower house of the Japanese parliament, or Diet. He spoke in response to questions from Constitutional Democratic Party Councilman Issei Yamagishi, who said reports to the National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan regarding online casinos had increased from about 100 in 2014 to nearly 500 in 2020. An estimated 2 million people use online casinos in Japan.
“In the event a portion of the act of gambling is taking place within Japan, it constitutes a gambling crime,” said the prime minister. “I understand there are cases in which arrests and criminal charges have been made related to online casinos. We cannot allow illegal organizations to expand.”
He added that multiple ministries and agencies are working to stamp out illegal gambling.
Yamagishi criticized the central government’s plan to develop Japan’s first integrated resorts (IRs), claiming its inability to stop illegal online casinos means lawmakers will also be unable to prevent “societal threats” posed by IRs.
Kishida responded, “IRs are not only casinos but also MICE and tourist centers. I will work with the related ministries and agencies to crack down on [online casinos]. One important issue is understanding the flow of capital and another is countermeasures for addiction.”
In April, both Osaka and Nagasaki prefectures applied to the Japanese government for licenses to develop IRs, but separate civil groups in those regions are challenging the plans. The Osaka group has collected more than 208,500 signatures on a petition to get a referendum on the issue—well above the 140,000 signatures required. MGM Resorts and Orix Corp. head the Osaka consortium, which hopes to build a $10 billion IR at Yumeshima Island in Osaka Bay.
A civil group in Nagasaki said it had “submitted a resident audit request to the prefecture” to determine if payments for consultants to support the prefecture was legally appropriate. A June 2 announcement from the anti-casino group said it was “highly skeptical about the fundraising plan” for the casino resort proposal from Nagasaki’s private-sector partner, Casinos Austria International Japan Inc. That group plans to build a $2.7 billion IR at the Huis ten Bosch theme park in Sasebo City.
