Japan: gambling regulation and licensing

Japan prohibits gambling by default and allows it only by statutory exception. Articles 185 and 186 of the Penal Code punish gambling, habitual gambling and running a gambling place for profit, and Article 187 bans lotteries. The exceptions are all public: horse racing run by the Japan Racing Association and local governments, keirin, motorboat and auto racing run by local governments, the takarakuji lotteries issued by prefectures and designated cities, and the sports promotion lottery on football and basketball run by the Japan Sport Council. There is no licence for private online betting, online casino or online poker, and the National Police Agency states that betting from Japan with an overseas online casino is a crime even where the site is lawful abroad. Police cleared 317 people for online gambling offences in 2025, up from 279. Since 25 September 2025 an amendment to the Basic Act on Gambling Addiction Countermeasures bans presenting illegal online gambling sites or apps to people in Japan and posting information that steers them there. Land-based casino gaming is legal only inside certified integrated resorts under the IR District Development Act of 2018, licensed by the Japan Casino Regulatory Commission. Only the Osaka Yumeshima plan has been certified, in April 2023, with opening targeted for around autumn 2030, and no casino has yet opened. A second window for district plans runs from 6 May to 5 November 2027, for up to two more of the three statutory places. A casino operator will pay 15% of gross gaming revenue to the state and 15% to the host prefecture or city, and everyone except foreigners not resident in Japan pays 6,000 yen in entry charges per 24 hours.

Regulator

Japan Casino Regulatory Commission (JCRC)

Regulator type

Dedicated regulator

Headline tax

See Taxation

Licence required

Yes

Minimum age

20+

Tax base

Japan has no online gambling tax because it has no lawful private online market. An IR casino operator must pay the state each month 15% of casino gross gaming revenue, defined as chips received from customers less chips paid out, plus the gains from player-to-player games, together with a JCRC charge for order and safety costs (IR District Development Act, art. 192), and a further 15% of gross gaming revenue for the host prefecture or city (art. 193). No casino has opened, so neither is yet collected. The public race operators are not taxed on gross revenue: the Japan Racing Association pays the state 10% of ticket sales net of refunds and half of its annual surplus (Japan Racing Association Act, art. 27). Its payments for 2024 were 334.3 billion yen and 32.3 billion yen. Its betting ticket sales were 3,485.3 billion yen in 2025, up 5.2% on 2024 (turnover, not gross gaming revenue). No GGR rate is recorded for this jurisdiction because it would misrepresent an online market that does not exist.

Capital

Tokyo

Currency

JPY

Official languages

Japanese

Built from the record on this page, last verified 21 Oct 2026. The Licensing and Taxation sections carry the full detail and sources.

Licence required

Yes

Application window

Closed

Local establishment required

Not yet verified

Local server required

Not yet verified

Licence cap

3

Certification requirements

Electronic casino devices must be of a type that passed JCRC type examination (IR District Development Act art. 41(1)(ix) and art. 151).

Barriers to entry

There is no route to any Japanese online gambling licence. Land-based casino gaming needs a certified district plan, filed by a prefecture or designated city with a private partner, and then a JCRC licence. The Act caps certified plans at three; Osaka Yumeshima, led by MGM and ORIX, is the only one certified (14 April 2023) and plans to open around autumn 2030. JCRC vets the applicant, its officers, every holder of 5% or more of voting rights and landholders for social credibility, and contracts over one year or over 300 million yen need JCRC approval. The next window for district plans runs from 6 May to 5 November 2027, and only a prefecture or designated city, jointly with its private operator, can apply (art. 9(1)); it is closed until then. The licence cap of 3 recorded here is the statutory cap on certified district plans.

Headline GGR tax

Not yet verified

Effective date

Not yet verified

Player winnings tax

Payouts from horse racing and keirin are occasional income: half of the amount above the special deduction of up to 500,000 yen (net of the cost of the winning tickets) is added to other income and taxed at the individual rate (National Tax Agency, Tax Answer No. 1490). Takarakuji and sports promotion lottery prizes are free of income tax (Prize Ticket Act art. 13; Sports Promotion Lottery Act art. 16).

Tax base

Japan has no online gambling tax because it has no lawful private online market. An IR casino operator must pay the state each month 15% of casino gross gaming revenue, defined as chips received from customers less chips paid out, plus the gains from player-to-player games, together with a JCRC charge for order and safety costs (IR District Development Act, art. 192), and a further 15% of gross gaming revenue for the host prefecture or city (art. 193). No casino has opened, so neither is yet collected. The public race operators are not taxed on gross revenue: the Japan Racing Association pays the state 10% of ticket sales net of refunds and half of its annual surplus (Japan Racing Association Act, art. 27). Its payments for 2024 were 334.3 billion yen and 32.3 billion yen. Its betting ticket sales were 3,485.3 billion yen in 2025, up 5.2% on 2024 (turnover, not gross gaming revenue). No GGR rate is recorded for this jurisdiction because it would misrepresent an online market that does not exist.

Minimum age

20+

National self-exclusion

Not yet verified

KYC timing

At every entry to and exit from the casino gaming area.

AML regime

Casino operators are specified business operators under the Act on Prevention of Transfer of Criminal Proceeds. They must verify customers when opening a casino account, making a loan or taking deposits, and for chip purchases, withdrawals, repayments, exchanges and comps over 300,000 yen, keep records and file suspicious transaction reports. Cash transactions over 1,000,000 yen must be reported to JCRC, which passes them to the National Public Safety Commission (IR District Development Act, art. 109). Chips may not be transferred between customers or taken out of the gaming area.

AML supervisor

Japan Casino Regulatory Commission (casinos)

Affordability checks

Casino credit may be extended only to foreigners not resident in Japan and to customers holding at least 10 million yen on deposit with the operator, within a limit set per customer using credit information; loans run for no more than two months and carry no interest (IR District Development Act, art. 85; JCRC).

Source of funds thresholds

Customer verification for casino transactions over 300,000 yen; cash transaction reports above 1,000,000 yen.

KYC requirements

IR casinos must check identity and entry eligibility, using the My Number card or similar, each time a patron enters or leaves the gaming area. Under-20s, organised crime members, people who have not paid the entry charge and people who have reached the visit cap may not enter: everyone except foreigners not resident in Japan may enter no more than 3 times in 7 days and 10 times in 28 days (IR District Development Act, art. 69). Under-20s may not buy horse racing, keirin, motorboat or auto racing tickets, and under-19s may not buy sports promotion lottery tickets.

Stake limits

Not yet verified

Reporting obligations

Casino operators must report the addiction prevention measures they take and how they are implemented to JCRC (art. 68(1)), report cash transactions over 1,000,000 yen (art. 109), and publish audited financial statements, internal control reports and quarterly reports (JCRC).

Game content restrictions

Casino games are limited to nine table game types in 21 categories (baccarat, twenty-one, poker, casino war, craps, sic bo, roulette, money wheel and pai gow) plus electronic games, played in the facility on installed equipment (JCRC).

Advertising permitted

No

Affiliate rules

Promoting offshore online casinos is banned by art. 9-2 of the Basic Act on Gambling Addiction Countermeasures, and police have arrested an affiliate who contracted with an overseas online casino and urged viewers on video sites to use it, for aiding habitual gambling.

Social media rules

Posting links to online casino sites or promotional messages on social media is a banned act under art. 9-2 of the Basic Act (National Police Agency).

Mandatory warnings

Every casino advertisement or solicitation must state that under-20s may not enter a casino facility and carry a caution on casino use and addiction, in the form set by JCRC rules (IR District Development Act, art. 106(5)).

Penalties for breach

The Basic Act has no criminal penalty for breach of art. 9-2; exposure for promoters is criminal through the Penal Code offences of aiding gambling, as in the police affiliate case. False casino advertising, and casino billboards or leaflets outside the permitted places, are punishable by up to 1 year in prison, a fine of up to 1 million yen, or both (IR District Development Act, art. 239).

Credit card ban

Not yet verified

Crypto stance

Not yet verified

Payment blocking regime

This record found no payment blocking order regime for offshore gambling. Police have prosecuted people who posed as payment agents and collected stakes for overseas online casinos in their own bank accounts, under the Act on Punishment of Organised Crimes. Payment deterrence works by government request rather than order: according to the MIC study group report, the Financial Services Agency asked banks, crypto asset exchanges, fund transfer and prepaid payment providers in May 2025 to stop payments they identify as online casino payments, and in July 2025 the National Police Agency and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry began passing card data to the international card brands so they can ask overseas acquirers to cut off online casino merchants.

Currency restrictions

In IR casinos chips are bought with cash or other payment means set by JCRC rules; credit cards may be used only by foreigners not resident in Japan (IR District Development Act, art. 73(8) and (9)). Fund transfers for customers are limited to accounts in the same customer's name (JCRC).

ISP blocking

No

DNS blocking

Not yet verified

Payment blocking

Not yet verified

App store takedowns

Not yet verified

Administrative penalties

JCRC can order a casino operator to improve its operations or suspend its casino business in whole or part, and can revoke licences (IR District Development Act, art. 204).

Criminal penalties

Gambling: a fine of up to 500,000 yen or a petty fine (Penal Code art. 185). Habitual gambling: up to 3 years in prison (art. 186(1)). Running a gambling place or organising gamblers for profit: 3 months to 5 years (art. 186(2)). Unauthorised race bookmaking: up to 5 years or a fine of up to 5 million yen (Horse Racing Act art. 30). Serious IR Act breaches, such as obtaining a casino licence by fraud: up to 5 years or a fine of up to 5 million yen, with corporate fines of up to 500 million yen (IR District Development Act arts. 236 and 243).

Operator liability

Running an online gambling site for players in Japan is prosecuted as running a gambling place for profit (Penal Code art. 186(2)), punishable by 3 months to 5 years in prison; the National Police Agency cites a case against people in Japan operating a site on overseas servers. Payment agents and affiliates have also been charged.

Player liability

Yes. The National Police Agency states that betting from Japan on an overseas online casino is gambling under Penal Code art. 185, and that habitual play is punishable by up to 3 years in prison under art. 186(1). Of the 221 people cleared for purely online gambling in 2025, 196 were players.

1. 27 Jul 2018

   IR District Development Act (Act No. 80 of 2018) promulgated

2. 7 Jan 2020

   Japan Casino Regulatory Commission established

3. 14 Apr 2023

   Osaka Yumeshima IR district development plan certified

4. 27 Dec 2023

   Nagasaki IR district development plan refused

5. 21 Mar 2025

   Cabinet adopts the third Basic Plan on gambling addiction countermeasures

6. 25 Jun 2025

   Amendment to the Basic Act banning promotion of illegal online gambling promulgated (Act No. 76 of 2025)

7. 25 Sept 2025

   Ban on presenting and promoting illegal online gambling sites takes effect

8. 13 Mar 2026

   Cabinet Order sets a second IR application period for 2027

9. 27 Jul 2026

   MIC publishes its final report on access deterrence for online casinos

10. 7 Oct 2026

    Aichi Prefecture confirms operators filed participation statements in its Chubu Centrair airport-island IR tender; proposals due 23 March 2027

11. 6 May 2027

    Second IR district plan application period opens (closes 5 November 2027)

The second application window for IR district plans opens on 6 May 2027 and closes on 5 November 2027, and prefectures and designated cities must decide by then whether to bid for the two remaining places. Aichi Prefecture said on 7 October 2026 that private operators had filed participation statements in its tender for an integrated resort on the Chubu Centrair airport island, without naming them or giving their number, and set 23 March 2027 as the deadline for full proposals. Construction continues on the Osaka Yumeshima IR, which the government evaluates each year and which targets opening around autumn 2030; its operator will need a JCRC casino licence before then. On offshore play, the MIC study group reported in July 2026 that ISP blocking should not be ruled out but needs a statute and further evidence on whether the 2025 promotion ban and other measures are working. Police cleared 317 people for online gambling offences in 2025, the highest figure in the National Police Agency series from 2021.

Is online casino legal in Japan?

No. Casino gaming is lawful only in the gaming area of a licensed casino in a certified IR district, played on equipment installed there. Betting from Japan with an overseas online casino is a crime for the player under Penal Code art. 185, and running a site for players in Japan carries 3 months to 5 years in prison.

What sports betting is legal in Japan?

Only betting on the public races (horse racing run by the Japan Racing Association and local governments, and keirin, motorboat and auto racing run by local governments) and the sports promotion lottery on football and basketball run by the Japan Sport Council. There is no private sportsbook licence.

Can affiliates promote online casinos to Japanese users?

No. Since 25 September 2025 the Basic Act on Gambling Addiction Countermeasures bans presenting illegal online gambling sites to people in Japan and posting information that steers them there, and police have arrested an affiliate for aiding habitual gambling.

How many integrated resorts can Japan have, and when is the next round?

The IR District Development Act allows up to three certified district plans. Only Osaka Yumeshima is certified, with opening targeted for around autumn 2030. The next application window runs from 6 May to 5 November 2027.

How will IR casinos be taxed?

Operators pay 15% of casino gross gaming revenue to the state plus a JCRC charge, and another 15% to the host prefecture or city. Everyone except foreigners not resident in Japan pays 6,000 yen in entry charges per 24 hours.

Does Japan block offshore gambling sites?

Not at present. A MIC study group reported in July 2026 that ISP blocking should not be ruled out but would need a statute, and that the effect of other measures, including the 2025 promotion ban, must be verified first.

Who regulates gambling in Japan?

The Japan Casino Regulatory Commission (JCRC) regulates gambling in Japan. Other authorities with a role include National Police Agency and Japan Tourism Agency (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism).

• Singapore
• South Korea
• Macau
• Philippines

M&A

20 Oct 2026

Raketech Settles Its €20.3 Million Casumba Earnout for €8.2 Million, and Its Shares Jump 62%

The Stockholm-listed affiliate will pay the sellers of a Japan-focused business it bought for €2.0 million in 2019 about 40% of what it still owed them, mostly with a Bank of Valletta loan. Before the news the market valued the whole company at about a quarter of the old bill; the deal still waits on the bank.

Corporate

16 Oct 2026

Universal Entertainment Colombo Quits Port City's Casino Resort Plot as Five of 10 Projects Fall Away

A casino applicant that studied the 10-hectare integrated resort plot at Colombo Port City has walked away during due diligence, officials told Sri Lanka's Parliament. Nobody has yet shown who stood behind it, and the casino rules any successor would need are still not in place.

Regulatory

12 Oct 2026

Japan Again Tells MGM Osaka to Refine Its Visitor Forecasts and Plan Its Non-Gaming Spending

Japan's tourism ministry says the Osaka integrated resort still meets the required standards, but for a third year it finds the demand forecasts have only been checked, not reworked. Those forecasts still promise 20 million visitors a year, while the planned initial investment has risen by 40% since the plan was first filed.

Sports Betting

12 Oct 2026

ANJ Finds Bettors It Flags as Excessive Place Up to 89% of Stakes on Half, Quarter and Set Bets

France's gambling regulator has broken its 2025 online sports betting figures down by sport and found growth built on more matches, a 24-hour live offer and operators steering payouts to the 85% cap. The sharper finding is who bets on the obscure end of the menu: mostly players its own algorithm flags as excessive.

Regulatory

7 Oct 2026

Aichi Confirms Interest in Its Airport Casino Resort Tender but Withholds Who and How Many

Aichi says it received participation statements for its airport island integrated resort by the 30 September deadline and wants full proposals by 23 March 2027. It will not say who applied or how many, so Japan's most advanced second-round bid may have a contest or a single suitor.

Regulatory

6 Oct 2026

Oto, a Town of 4,766, Will Ask Fukuoka to Bid for Japan's 2027 IR Round

A former coal-mining town in Fukuoka says it will hand the prefecture an integrated resort proposal this month and wants the prefectural assembly to take it up in December. Under Japan's IR law the town cannot apply itself, and the prefecture has not said it will.

Regulatory

6 Oct 2026

Yokohama Looks Set to Sit Out Japan's 2027 IR Round as No Mayoral Candidate Backs a Casino

Seven candidates filed on Sunday for the 18 October election to replace Takeharu Yamanaka, and Yamanaka is one of them. The frontrunner, backed by four ruling and opposition parties, has ruled out an integrated resort, and the others oppose one, seven months before Japan opens applications for its two remaining licences.

Corporate

5 Oct 2026

Paradise Posts a Record ₩268bn Quarter on Better Hold as GKL's Third Quarter Stalls

Paradise Co's four foreigner-only casinos took more in the third quarter than in any quarter before it, even though customers bought fewer chips than in the second. Grand Korea Leisure recovered in September, but its quarter was barely ahead of last year's.

Regulatory

24 Sept 2026

South Korea Opens Its Tourism Fund to Casino Construction Loans of Up to ₩15bn for the First Time Since 1998

Korean casino operators can now borrow from the state tourism fund to build or expand, not just to cover running costs. The loans arrive as the government moves to raise the casino levy ceiling by half and make licences renewable every five years, and the industry is asking whether the carrot comes before the stick.

All 23 articles on Japan →

Source tiers. Tier 1: the law, official gazette, licence register or regulator itself. Tier 2: other official sources such as ministries, parliaments, courts and statistics agencies. Tier 3: established trade press, used to find and date the primary source. Only tier 1 and tier 2 sources can support a fact on their own.

1. Penal Code (Act No. 45 of 1907), Articles 185 to 187, version in force from 21 May 2026

   e-Gov Laws, Digital Agency (translated)

   Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026
2. Act on Development of Specified Integrated Resort Districts (Act No. 80 of 2018), version in force from 10 July 2026

   e-Gov Laws, Digital Agency (translated)

   Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026
3. Basic Act on Gambling Addiction Countermeasures (Act No. 74 of 2018), as amended by Act No. 76 of 2025, version in force from 25 September 2025

   e-Gov Laws, Digital Agency (translated)

   Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026
4. Horse Racing Act (Act No. 158 of 1948)

   e-Gov Laws, Digital Agency (translated)

   Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026
5. Japan Racing Association Act (Act No. 205 of 1954), version in force from 10 September 2026

   e-Gov Laws, Digital Agency (translated)

   Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026
6. Act on the Implementation of Sports Promotion Lottery (Act No. 63 of 1998)

   e-Gov Laws, Digital Agency (translated)

   Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026
7. Bicycle Racing Act (Act No. 209 of 1948)

   e-Gov Laws, Digital Agency (translated)

   Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026
8. Motorboat Racing Act (Act No. 242 of 1951)

   e-Gov Laws, Digital Agency (translated)

   Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026
9. Auto Racing Act (Act No. 208 of 1950)

   e-Gov Laws, Digital Agency (translated)

   Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026
10. Prize Ticket Act (Act No. 144 of 1948)

    e-Gov Laws, Digital Agency (translated)

    Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026
11. Act on Control and Improvement of Amusement Business (Act No. 122 of 1948)

    e-Gov Laws, Digital Agency (translated)

    Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026
12. Cabinet Order Setting the Period under Article 9(10) of the IR District Development Act (Cabinet Order No. 365 of 2020), as amended by Cabinet Order No. 31 of 2026

    e-Gov Laws, Digital Agency (translated)

    Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 13 Mar 2026
13. JCRC's Mission and Affairs

    Japan Casino Regulatory Commission

    Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026
14. Casino regulation: overview and principal laws and regulations

    Japan Casino Regulatory Commission (translated)

    Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026
15. Entry regulation through licences

    Japan Casino Regulatory Commission (translated)

    Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026
16. Regulation of casino business activities

    Japan Casino Regulatory Commission (translated)

    Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026
17. Anti-money laundering measures

    Japan Casino Regulatory Commission (translated)

    Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026
18. Specified Integrated Resorts (IR): laws, basic policy, application periods and certification (last updated 31 March 2026)

    Japan Tourism Agency, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (translated)

    Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026
19. On the Kyushu Nagasaki IR district development plan (decision not to certify)

    Japan Tourism Agency, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (translated)

    Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 27 Dec 2023
20. Osaka Yumeshima IR district development plan: implementation status evaluation for FY2023 (IR District Development Plan Review Committee)

    Japan Tourism Agency, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (translated)

    Tier 2Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 29 Aug 2024
21. Evaluation of the implementation status of the Osaka Yumeshima IR district development plan in FY2024

    Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (translated)

    Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 8 Aug 2025
22. Gambling using online casinos is a crime (enforcement examples and online gambling arrest statistics 2021 to 2025)

    National Police Agency (translated)

    Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026
23. Publication of the results of the consultation on the draft report of the Study Group on Access Deterrence for Online Casinos

    Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (translated)

    Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 27 Jul 2026
24. Report of the Study Group on Access Deterrence for Online Casinos (July 2026)

    Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (translated)

    Tier 2Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 27 Jul 2026
25. Headquarters for the Promotion of Gambling Addiction Countermeasures

    Cabinet Secretariat (translated)

    Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026
26. Betting sales and total participants, 1954 to 2025

    Japan Racing Association (translated)

    Tier 2Accessed 23 Sept 2026
27. Business report for the 2024 business year

    Japan Racing Association (translated)

    Tier 2Accessed 23 Sept 2026
28. Tax Answer No. 1490: occasional income (laws as at 1 April 2026)

    National Tax Agency (translated)

    Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026
29. 中部国際空港島特定複合観光施設設置運営事業の提案募集に係る民間事業者からの参加表明書の提出について (participation statements received by 30 September 2026; proposals due 23 March 2027)

    Aichi Prefectural Government (translated)

    Tier 1Accessed 14 Oct 2026Published 7 Oct 2026
30. Press release on toto sales: purchases limited to people aged 19 or over

    Rakuten Bank (translated)

    Tier 3Accessed 21 Oct 2026Published 18 May 2018