Despite the addiction to the popular Japanese game called Pachinko, if we want to look for a physical casino in major Japanese cities, we will not have much luck. Despite Pachinko being a tradition in the country, casinos have not been able to make headway due to their prohibition.
Japanese society has a great fear of gambling addiction and the problems that widespread gambling addiction in the country could cause. As a result, a large part of the population is firmly against having physical casinos that allow Japanese players to gamble. Obviously, as in almost all societies, attitudes change, and younger people have a different perception of gambling, seeing it as a form of leisure that can be carried out in a healthy and responsible manner, without meaning they have or can have a problem with gambling uncontrollably.
Changes in National Regulations
Source: yogonet.com
The intentions of Japanese governments vary depending on who is in power, as is the case in many other countries, as each political group has its own ideas and beliefs about gambling. However, it is in the political plans to allow physical casinos to be created in the country, at least in the main tourist cities. But with limitations for citizens of the country, as the aim is for tourists visiting the country temporarily to frequent them the most.
In this sense, what they do propose is clear restrictions for Japanese players, charging access fees to try to dissuade users from going to the casino regularly. In addition, other restrictions are planned, such as the prohibition of accessing a casino more than a certain number of times in weekly or monthly periods, so that they cannot go too frequently.
In 2018, the possibility of building physical casinos in the country was approved, but with some of the restrictions mentioned above, although they will likely adjust these restrictions to the reality of the country once several casinos are operating and they can analyze the impact they are having on Japanese society.
Allowed Games
Within gambling, some games are allowed and widely consumed in Japan. These are mainly lotteries and horse racing. In fact, there are a large number of racecourses in the country, and the Japanese are great fans of betting on horse racing.
Some racecourses, moreover, are enormous. For example, the Tokyo Racecourse, which hosts many of the country’s most important races, has a capacity for over 200,000 people. This helps us get an idea of how popular horse racing is in Japan.
Online Gambling
Source: gamingtechlaw.com
The situation of gambling in the country opens the door to online gambling, which takes advantage of the inability of Japanese citizens to go to physical casinos. Regarding online gambling, we can see a very curious situation: it is prohibited to offer online casino games in the country, operated by Japanese companies, but it is not prohibited, nor does the government do anything to prevent Japanese people from accessing international casino sites via the internet.
In fact, part of society demands that companies in the country be allowed to create online casinos specifically for Japanese people who offer these services, as in this way, the profits that companies obtain will be taxed in the country, generating extra income in the form of taxes that can be dedicated in part to fighting gambling addiction and the problems derived from gambling and other addictions.
However, the current situation is that it is prohibited to offer these games by companies in the country, but it is allowed for users to consume these international sites. Due to this situation, more and more online casinos are offering their websites entirely in Japanese and accepting payments in the Japanese currency, the yen, so that they attract a large number of players who want to play but have to do so on foreign websites. Even in recent years, we have seen how websites that recommend casinos for players in the country have grown, due to high demand from the Japanese and a social change in attitude that increasingly normalizes the possibility of playing occasionally in an online casino.
An example of a website that offers specialized information to Japanese people could be Casinotop3, which provides information for different languages in a specific way. One of them is Japanese, and if we look at the list of casinos aimed at Japanese players, we can see a long list of international gaming sites that want to attract players from the country by offering all the comforts, including a complete translation of the website into Japanese so that they do not have to play in a different language than their own.
Onlinecasinojapan.com is also one of the examples. They provide various online casino bonus information for Japanese players and games where you can talk with dealers in Japanese.
Sports Betting
Sports betting also has a great demand in Japan, as Japanese people love to bet not only on domestic sports but also on major European sports and championships. In fact, for example, in football, they bet not only on the J1 League, the top Japanese competition but also on European competitions such as the major leagues or the Champions League. In any case, the situation for online betting is the same as for casino games, and they have to turn to international sports betting sites to place their bets online.
The Japanese also love to bet on other popular sports such as tennis or basketball, betting on the ATP’s major circuits, and globally popular basketball competitions such as the NBA.
Source: telegraph.co.uk
The Logical Evolution of Online Gaming
It is likely that in the coming years, as physical casinos are allowed to be built in the country, Japanese companies will also be allowed to operate online casinos that offer maximum guarantees to Japanese players.
After all, by prohibiting these services from operating within the country, authorities are not preventing players from accessing international websites, which has its own disadvantages. If Japanese companies are allowed to open online casinos for players in the country, they could control the games offered and limit the amount of money that can be played to prevent any gambling-related problems. However, the reality is that the most addictive form of gambling in the country, Pachinko, is also the most permitted.
