Eight countries and territories have been asked by Japan to prevent online gambling operators licensed in their respective jurisdictions from providing services to residents of Japan.
That is according to a number of Japanese media outlets in Tuesday reports, as reviewed by GGRAsia’s Japan correspondent.
According to media, Japan’s National Police Agency, via the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, has made the request.
The places are: Canada; Costa Rica; Georgia; Malta; Anjouan, an autonomous part of the Comoros Islands in the Indian Ocean; the Dutch Caribbean island of Curaçao; the Isle of Man, a self-governing dependency of the British Crown; and Gibraltar, a British Overseas Territory.
Japanese media reports cited a Japanese-government source that was not identified. The reports gave no details on how Japanese consumers might be cut off from such online providers.
The reports come as Japan counts down to the launch of MGM Osaka, the country’s first land-based integrated resort (IR) with casino, due open in late 2030. A ground breaking ceremony for the complex was held in April.
Earlier this month it was reported Japanese police had detained nine people suspected of involvement in an operation that saw JPY90 billion (US$628.5 million) deposited in accounts they allegedly managed for online gambling.
Of that, a total of JPY2.6 billion in funds had specifically been identified as deployed for gambling by 3,600 “customers” at online casinos overseas.
Days before that police action, Japan’s House of Representatives – the lower chamber of the country’s parliament – approved a bill aiming to tighten regulations against illegal online casinos.
On May 27, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications had its fourth meeting of a body called the Study Group on the Prevention of Access to Online Casinos, according to GGRAsia’s Japan correspondent. It discussed legal issues regarding online blocking technologies.
Earlier in May, Japan’s Financial Services Agency and the National Police Agency jointly issued an official request to financial institutions to make it known to the public that online casinos were illegal in Japan. The bodies called on the financial organisations to assist in preventing payment settlement services being provided to online casinos.
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