Japan’s National Police Agency recorded 317 arrests of online gamblers in 2025. Despite online gambling being legal in many other countries, it remains illegal in Japan.
The statistics show that domestic legislation has been consistently applied to cases involving accessing foreign websites. They show a rapid increase in numbers of gamblers in the country considering that, this was the first time since 2018 the number of arrests has ever been that high.
The rise in gamblers can be attributed to the growing number of individuals using online casino websites independently. This is a prove that there is quite a significant number of individual offenders out of all those people reported by the police as cyber gamblers in 2025.
National Police Agency stated that the number for 2025 arrests tops since 2018. Although, details about all the cases have not been provided. The growing significance of self-use of online casino websites has been noted by the source.
A police officer pointed out that enough measures still have not been taken. The official guaranteed that authorities will continue working to create an environment in which people are not allowed to use online casinos or simply cannot use them.
Keeping up with personal internet in Japan
The rise of individual website access via ones personal devices makes it hard for police to scrutiny events of online gambling in the country. The use of smartphones is one of the features that defines how online casinos operate. Without a physical betting space, the services are available directly through mobile devices, allowing users to place bets remotely.
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In addition, most online casinos have no real premises where bets can be placed. Their services are available through smartphones making them easy to reach and difficult to monitor. Smartphones have made online gambling a continuing concern for police in Japan. The country’s enforcement data showed that authorities cant match the speed and reach of digital gambling platforms with a response that can prevent wider use.
The 317 instances reported in 2025 demonstrated the consistent efforts made towards enforcing online gambling regulation throughout the years. Despite being seemingly insignificant when taken individually, this is actually the highest annual figure for 7 years and demonstrates that there have been ongoing activities in this area.
Continued Scrutiny
The data released by the National Police Agency indicates that online gambling remains under close scrutiny in Japan. Police are keeping attention on both users and the platforms they access.
With the record figures being reported in 2025, it is evident how challenging it is to stop people from gambling once they shift from using desktop computers to their mobile phones. The data also confirms that there is still a lot of work left to be done.
