Japan: gambling regulation and licensing
- Online sports bettingMonopoly
- Horse race bettingMonopoly
- Online casinoProhibited
- Online pokerProhibited
- Land-based (reference)Regulated
- Regulator
- Japan Casino Regulatory Commission
- Headline tax
- Not yet verified
- Licence required
- Yes
- Last verified
- 30 Aug 2026
Summary
Japan prohibits gambling by default and permits it only by statutory exception. Articles 185 to 187 of the Penal Code (Act No. 45 of 1907) criminalise gambling, habitual gambling and running a gambling place for gain, and the exceptions are narrow: the publicly operated races, meaning horse racing, keirin, motorboat and auto racing, and the sports promotion lottery, all run by government or municipal bodies and sold online by the official operators. Those public race products are substantial businesses in their own right, and online sales through the official channels have grown into the main distribution route, which makes Japan a large online betting market that is nonetheless entirely state-run. Casino gaming was legalised in 2018, but only inside at most three certified integrated resort districts supervised by the Japan Casino Regulatory Commission, and never online. Offshore online casino play is an offence for the player as well as the operator, a point Japanese authorities have made explicitly as enforcement against offshore sites has stepped up. Pachinko sits outside the gambling framework altogether through a prize-exchange structure that keeps it formally lawful. There is no prospect of a private online licence, so the commercial question in Japan is access to the public operators rather than entry in the ordinary sense.
Key facts
- Regulator
- Japan Casino Regulatory Commission (JCRC)
- Regulator type
- Dedicated regulator
- Headline tax
- Not yet verified
- Licence required
- Yes
- Minimum age
- 20+
- Tax base
- Japan has no online gambling tax because it has no legal online casino or private betting market. For IR casinos, ICLG reports a 15 per cent national tax and a 15 per cent municipal tax on gross gaming revenue, both charged monthly, plus customer entrance fees totalling 6,000 yen (3,000 national and 3,000 municipal). No gross-revenue rate is recorded on this jurisdiction because it would misrepresent an online market that does not exist.
- Capital
- Tokyo
- Currency
- JPY
- Official languages
- Japanese
Legal framework
Primary statutes
Penal Code (Act No. 45 of 1907)
- Year
- 1907
- In force
- Yes
- Summary
- Article 185 punishes a person who gambles by a fine of not more than 500,000 yen or a petty fine, with an exception for betting a thing provided for momentary entertainment. Article 186 punishes a person who habitually gambles, or who for the purpose of gain allows others to gamble in a place under their control, by imprisonment of not more than 3 years or a fine of not more than 3,000,000 yen. Article 187 punishes the sale of lottery tickets. Every lawful form of Japanese gambling is a statutory exception carved out of these provisions.
Act on Development of Specified Integrated Resort Districts (Act No. 80 of 2018)
- Year
- 2018
- In force
- Yes
- Summary
- The IR District Development Act legalises casino gaming inside certified integrated resort districts and established the Japan Casino Regulatory Commission on 7 January 2020 as an external bureau of the Cabinet Office. Article 9 caps the number of certified district development plans at three. The JCRC handles casino licensing examinations, supervision of operators, technical regulation of casino devices, addiction prevention and international regulatory cooperation.
Secondary instruments
Act on Promotion of Development of Specified Integrated Resort Districts (Act No. 115 of 2016)
- Year
- 2016
- In force
- Yes
Enforcement Order of the Act on Development of Specified Integrated Resort Districts (Cabinet Order No. 72 of 2019)
- Year
- 2019
- In force
- Yes
Basic Act on Countermeasures Against Gambling Addiction (Act No. 74 of 2018)
- Year
- 2018
- In force
- Yes
- Summary
- Amended in June 2025, with the amendments taking effect in September 2025 according to ICLG.
Licensing
- Licence required
- Yes
- Application window
- Not yet verified
- Local establishment required
- Not yet verified
- Local server required
- Not yet verified
- Licence cap
- 3
- Barriers to entry
- There is no route to a Japanese online licence at all. Land-based casino gaming is confined to at most three certified IR districts under Article 9 of Act No. 80 of 2018, and ICLG reports only the Osaka district certified, in April 2023. The licence cap of 3 recorded here is the statutory cap on certified district development plans.
Licence types
Casino business licence
- Scope
- Casino gaming inside a certified integrated resort district, examined and supervised by the Japan Casino Regulatory Commission. There is no online gambling licence in Japan.
Taxation
- Headline GGR tax
- Not yet verified
- Effective date
- Not yet verified
- Tax base
- Japan has no online gambling tax because it has no legal online casino or private betting market. For IR casinos, ICLG reports a 15 per cent national tax and a 15 per cent municipal tax on gross gaming revenue, both charged monthly, plus customer entrance fees totalling 6,000 yen (3,000 national and 3,000 municipal). No gross-revenue rate is recorded on this jurisdiction because it would misrepresent an online market that does not exist.
Compliance
- Minimum age
- 20+
- National self-exclusion
- Not yet verified
- KYC requirements
- Not yet verified
- Stake limits
- Not yet verified
Advertising
- Advertising permitted
- No
- Affiliate rules
- Affiliates are not separately licensed. Promoting offshore online casino to Japanese consumers has no lawful basis.
- Penalties for breach
- Promotion of unlawful gambling is dealt with under the Penal Code rather than through an advertising code, so exposure is criminal.
Restrictions
- Online casino and online poker are prohibited, so there is no lawful online product to advertise and promotion of offshore operators has no lawful basis.
- The lawful betting products are the publicly operated races and the sports promotion lottery, run by government or municipal bodies, and their promotion is a public activity rather than a commercial advertising market.
- Casino gaming is confined to certified integrated resort districts supervised by the Japan Casino Regulatory Commission, and advertising of the casino business is restricted to designated settings rather than permitted generally.
- Offshore online casino play is an offence for the player as well as the operator, so promotion carries exposure at both ends.
Enforcement
- ISP blocking
- Not yet verified
- DNS blocking
- Not yet verified
- Payment blocking
- Not yet verified
- App store takedowns
- Not yet verified
- Operator liability
- Running a gambling place for the purpose of gain is punishable under Article 186 of the Penal Code by imprisonment of not more than 3 years or a fine of not more than 3,000,000 yen. Enforcement is led by the National Police Agency.
- Player liability
- Yes. Betting with an offshore online casino from inside Japan is treated as gambling under Article 185 of the Penal Code, so the player commits an offence, not only the operator. This is unusual and is the single most important compliance fact about Japan.
Outlook
Two things to watch. First, the delivery of the Osaka integrated resort and whether a second or third district is ever certified against the statutory cap of three. Second, enforcement: Japanese police have escalated action against offshore online casinos and the affiliate sites that funnel players to them, and player-side liability makes Japan a jurisdiction where marketing exposure is real, not theoretical.
Frequently asked questions
- Is online casino legal in Japan?
- No. Casino gaming is permitted only inside certified integrated resort districts, and not online. Betting with an offshore online casino from inside Japan is an offence under Article 185 of the Penal Code.
- What sports betting is legal in Japan?
- Only the publicly operated races (horse racing, keirin bicycle racing, motorboat racing and auto racing) and the sports promotion lottery, run by government or municipal bodies. Private fixed-odds bookmaking is not permitted.
Sources
- Japan Casino Regulatory Commission - Mission, Affairs and Laws and Regulations
Japan Casino Regulatory Commission
Tier 1Accessed 4 Aug 2026 - Penal Code (Act No. 45 of 1907), Articles 185 to 187
Japanese Law Translation, Ministry of Justice (translated)
Tier 1Accessed 4 Aug 2026 - Act on Development of Specified Integrated Resort Districts (Act No. 80 of 2018)
Japanese Law Translation, Ministry of Justice (translated)
Tier 1Accessed 4 Aug 2026 - Gambling Laws and Regulations 2026 - Japan
ICLG (International Comparative Legal Guides)
Tier 3Accessed 4 Aug 2026