Japanese Police Officer Stole Valuable Trading Cards to Fuel Horse Racing Addiction

A Japanese police officer has admitted to selling rare trading cards to fund his addiction to betting on horse races.

The Japanese media outlet Fuji News Network’s FNN Prime Online service reported that the officer is named Toshiyuki Fujioka.

Fujioka is currently an employee of the Hanyu Police Station, a branch of the Saitama Prefectural Police Force.

Investigators say he stole nine trading cards from an evidence storage room at the police station between October and November last year.

A spokesperson stated that all the stolen cards had been seized as part of a criminal investigation into an alleged theft. The spokesperson confirmed that Fujioka had been involved in the case in question.

Japanese Trading Cards: Sold to Raise Gambling Funds

Investigators did not reveal the nature of the cards, but said they were “mainly rare items.” The spokesperson said Fujioka successfully sold eight of the cards, raising a total of 742,500 yen (around $4,700).

During questioning, Fujioka reportedly admitted to the charges. The media outlet quoted Fujioka as saying: “I spent the whole lot on horse racing. I couldn’t control my desire to gamble.”

Horse racing remains extremely popular in Japan, where approximately 15 million people attend more than 20,000 races annually. The nation is home to over 20 race tracks.

The Japanese horse racing industry commands annual betting turnovers of around 33.6 trillion yen ($21.5 billion).

Last month marked the end of an era for Japanese horse racing fans, when Casino Fountain – one of the country’s most successful horses in recent years – took part in his final race.

Following the race, the Funabashi Kinen, his owners sent Casino Fountain out to stud.

Police Crackdown

Japanese police and prosecutors last year ramped up their crackdown on online casino usage. Accessing online casinos from Japanese territory is a criminal offense.

The crackdown has seen several pro baseball players charged with online betting-related crimes.

The league, Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), has responded this year by creating special online casino education seminars for rookie players.

The Japanese media outlet Sports Hochi reported that the first such seminar was held in Tokyo on January 9, with 115 players and four umpires in attendance.

Hanshin Tigers’ first-round draft pick, a 22-year-old infielder named Masahiro Tateishi, told the media outlet: “From what I saw in the pictures we saw, the sites didn’t really look illegal.”

“Since online gambling sites can be found everywhere now, I want to be careful,” Tateishi said.