Japanese police say online casino-related arrests have ballooned in the past two years, and hit a record high of 196 in 2025.
This marks an increase of over 38% on 2024’s numbers, the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun reported.
Total case numbers also rose by almost 300% to 158, the National Police Agency announced. By contrast, the police made 25 online casino-related arrests in 2023, and just one in 2022.
All of the arrestees were found to have accessed online casinos via their smartphones and other web-connected devices, a police official said.
Online casinos are illegal in Japan. Accessing overseas-based online casinos from Japanese territory is also a criminal offense.
Online Casino Operators Also Charged
The National Police Agency said it has also arrested 25 people suspected of operating, promoting, and processing payments for illicit online casinos.
The arrestees in this category included payment processing companies that earned commissions for mediating bets and paying winners.
The agency also arrested a small number of so-called “affiliates.” These were mainly social media personalities who took money from operators in exchange for promoting online casinos to their followers.
“We believe that anonymous and highly mobile criminal groups are involved with the online casino sector,” National Police Agency Commissioner Yoshinobu Kusunoki said.
“They are gathering enormous quantities of illegal profits,” the commissioner added. “We will strive to dismantle their illegal business models.”
The agency also arrested 165 people for placing online bets using terminals and PCs in illegal gambling dens.
Stars in Police Spotlight
Police and public prosecutors last year launched a crackdown on celebrities and sports stars who have used online casinos based overseas.
Officers charged several top comedians, pop singers, baseball players, and sports coaches with using online gambling from their mobile devices.
The crackdown saw scores of stars fined or issued official warnings. The agency says it believes the crackdowns have helped raise awareness.
Many online casino users, police say, claim they were unaware of the illegality of using overseas-based online gambling portals.
Major sporting associations have responded by creating special training sessions highlighting the dangers of online gambling for rookie players.
Earlier this month, prosecutors in Akita Prefecture accused a sitting Japanese judge of embezzling funds set aside for civil servants.
Officials say the judge used the money to fuel his addiction to betting on online baccarat platforms.
