TOKYO (Kyodo) — More than 3 million people in Japan are estimated to have gambled at online casinos, with around 1.24 trillion yen ($8.4 billion) being spent annually, even though the practice is illegal, a police survey showed Thursday.
The National Police Agency released the findings of its first study on virtual casino use following recent cases involving athletes and celebrities, amid a lack of public awareness about its illegality.
Online casinos are legally operated in some countries but are not authorized in Japan, which has stricter regulations.
Accessing those sites and placing bets from Japan can result in fines of up to 500,000 yen. Habitual gamblers may face up to three years in prison under the country’s Penal Code.
The survey, commissioned by police and conducted by a research firm, covered around 27,145 people aged 15 to 79 nationwide between July and January. It found that 3.5 percent of respondents had gambled at virtual casinos.
The 3.5 percent equates to about 3.37 million people nationwide, with an estimated 1.97 million still gambling online illegally, the survey said.
“We take the widespread practice of illegal online gambling very seriously,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told a press conference, vowing to promote effective countermeasures.
Of the 500 gamblers and 6,500 nongamblers selected from the respondents, 3,044 people, or 43.5 percent, said they were unaware that online casino gambling is illegal in Japan.
Sixty percent of the 500 gamblers acknowledged having a gambling addiction, and 46 percent said they had fallen into debt at least once due to online casinos, the survey found.
About 23 percent of the 500 gamblers said they started betting at online casinos due to the influence of well-known figures, such as professional athletes and other celebrities, who are sometimes featured in advertisements.
The survey also revealed that only two online casino sites out of 40 selected sites with Japanese instructions showed that access from Japan is illegal.
In Japan, lotteries and betting on public races, such as horse, bicycle, boat and motorcycle racing, are legal.