July 10, 2025
TOKYO – Forcibly blocking illegal access to online casinos will be discussed in four stages by an expert panel of the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry, under a policy presented by the panel on Tuesday.
The panel, which is considering how to deter illegal use of the sites from Japan, compiled an interim summary of basic concepts related to such a ban.
The panel will issue conclusions through four stages of discussions over the necessity of forcible blocking, its expected benefits to society and other matters.
The panel will begin its practical examinations in autumn this year and will present a basic direction on the blocking possibly by the end of this year.
There is a view that blocking would be effective for preventing people from trying online casinos for the first time and keeping young people from illegally accessing the sites.
However, to implement the measure, it is necessary for internet access providers to confirm all destinations of users’ accesses, and it is unavoidable that doing so will infringe the secrecy of any means of communication that is guaranteed by the Constitution and other laws.
The interim summary states that the subject needs to be carefully examined in four stages of discussions because “implementing the blocking requires building circumstances in which the measure can be taken legally.”
As practical agenda, the panel’s four-stage discussions will cover the following four points.
First, whether such measures will be necessary and effective if other measures have not been effective in decreasing harm.
Second, how a balance should be kept between the social benefits gained from the implementation of blocking and the benefits lost from infringement of the secrecy of communications.
Third, whether new legislation will be necessary to implement the blocking.
Fourth, what practical procedures will need to be considered if the blocking is implemented.
The panel will discuss and examine the four points in that order.
Other methods to deter illegal use of online casino sites may include filtering that limits access to the sites via smartphones and deleting social media posts that solicit users into online casino sites.
The panel will also carefully examine whether those methods, which are seen to carry no risk of infringement of the secrecy of communications, can be effective, and then consider whether the blocking will be introduced.
An increasing number of Japanese, mainly young people, have been using online casino websites. Negative effects, such as addiction to gambling, are increasingly serious.
Among the online casino sites, there are overseas ones on which users can engage in sports betting on Japanese baseball, soccer and other sports.
This situation raises the fear that the existence of such casino sites may threaten the healthy nature of sports by, for example, leading to the fixing of games and matches.