Tim Alper is a journalist who covers betting news and regulation for CasinoBeats. He joined the CasinoBeats team in May 2025. He reports on breaking news and developments in the world of betting, casinos, and...
Read Full BioThe Japanese government has issued geoblocking orders for eight prominent online casino sites, with more sites in Tokyo’s crosshairs.
Tokyo officials refused to mention the sites by name at a press conference. But they claimed that all eight platforms are “no longer accessible” from Japanese IP addresses.
The Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun reported that the National Public Safety Commission, a Japanese Cabinet Office commission, has used its powers under the recently revised Basic Act on Measures to Combat Gambling and Other Addictions to enforce the blocks.
The commission says that all IP providers have enforced the blocks. However, it suggested that work is also underway to block access to over 30 other online casino sites.
Geoblock: Online Casino Sites Now ‘Inaccessible from Japan’
Japanese police report that many major online betting platforms actively target Japanese customers, offering Japanese-language services and convenient deposit options for Japanese residents.
However, the police force’s efforts to persuade operators to stop targeting Japanese customers have thus far been unsuccessful.
In June, the National Police Agency asked government bodies to intervene. The agency requested that the Foreign Ministry send letters to the governments of seven countries, including the Netherlands, Costa Rica, and Canada, asking them to either shut down the offending casinos or force them to block Japanese users.
Anti-Gambling Hotline Center Launches
Under the terms of the revised law, all forms of casino-related advertisement are also illegal in Japan.
This includes blog and social media posts that promote online casinos. The police force states that it has also established a new hotline center to address non-compliant content.
The center will begin collecting reports of user-generated content related to gambling. It will then respond by requesting that site administrators delete offending posts.
Non-compliant platforms could face administrative fines or further punitive action, the agency reminded the public.
Manabu Sakai, the Chairman of the National Public Safety Commission, said that blocking access to online casinos and deleting gambling-related social media posts were “an important public safety matter for Japan.”
Sakai concluded by calling on members of the public to report any illegal casino-related material they come across to the center.
Japan’s illegal gambling crackdown continues, as police say they have seen a sharp uptick in related crime.
Sankei Shimbun reported on September 29 that an unnamed 19-year-old man has been arrested for selling AI-generated pornography on an online auction platform.
Tokyo police think the man, a university student from Fujisawa City, Kanagawa Prefecture, used the money he raised from sales to gamble at an online casino.
Earlier this month, police in South Korea announced the shutdown of an illegal website that allowed bettors to wager on South Korean and Japanese horse races.
