Online casino usage is becoming rampant in Japan, despite recent high-profile crackdowns and harsher punishments for gamblers and operators.
Those are the findings of a major new study commissioned by the Japanese anti-gambling NGO, the Society Concerned About Gambling Addiction (SCGA).
The NGO provides counseling for gambling addicts. The SCGA spoke to over 460 people nationwide as part of its research.
The study’s authors found that the average amount of debt gamblers incur has skyrocketed 140% in the past four years to 10.84 million yen ($69,000).
“This is more than double the average annual income of a salaried worker: approximately 4.6 million yen [$29,000],” the study’s authors wrote. “Average gambling debt levels have reached a level that puts not only individuals but also their entire households at risk of economic collapse.”
Online casinos are illegal in Japan. Accessing an overseas-based online casino from Japanese territory also constitutes a criminal offense.
The study also found that many Japanese gamblers are turning to crime to fuel their addiction. Online casino users are statistically 10% more likely to be arrested than non-users, the figures show.
Japanese Online Casino Users are Predominantly Male
The vast majority of Japanese online casino users are men aged 20-39, the authors said. Users in their 20s accounted for 37% and those in their 30s for 35%, with 96% being male.
But the data pointed to a rise in youth gambling. The number of teenage users has increased sixfold since 2022. And 6.5% of university students surveyed admitted they are addicted to online casinos.
The average underage gambler places their first bet at age 17, the data shows.
The data indicates that desperate online gamblers with spiraling debts turn to their parents for help. Over 90% of gambling addicts admitted to borrowing money from their mothers and fathers to pay off debts, borrowing an average of $57,000.
“Gambling addiction is becoming more severe because there is a lack of basic awareness that anyone who gambles can develop it,” the authors wrote.
The authors added that gambling addiction “is a disease that we cannot cure without appropriate treatment.”
They also said lectures and financial behavior management interventions have proven ineffective, adding that youth gambling-related suicide rates are also rising.
The SCGA criticized Tokyo’s plans to approve the construction of three integrated casino-resorts.
The first of these, the MGM Osaka, is due to open in 2030.
“With the Osaka casino opening imminent, measures to address gambling addiction are sorely lacking,” the NGO concluded.
‘Tip of the Iceberg’
Per recently released National Police Agency figures, officers investigated 158 online casino-related gambling cases in 2025, a threefold rise on 2024’s figures.
Officers say that this is “likely just the tip of the iceberg.”
The agency said an estimated 3.37 million Japanese residents have “experience with online casinos.”
Police estimate annual betting amounts on illegal platforms at around 1.2 trillion yen ($7.7 billion).
The Japanese newspaper Kochi Shimbun reported that the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications has responded by creating an expert working group to draft “more effective deterrent measures.”
Sources close to the working group say experts have discussed a range of geo-blocking measures to restrict Japan-based users’ access to popular overseas casino sites.
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Online casino usage is becoming rampant in Japan, despite recent high-profile crackdowns and harsher punishments for gamblers and operators. Those are the findings of a major new study commissioned by the Japanese anti-gambling NGO, the Society Concerned About Gambling Addiction (SCGA). The NGO provides counseling for gambling addicts. The SCGA spoke to over 460 people
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