Japan gambling licence: no online licence

Japan has no single gambling regulator. Each lawful product has its own supervisor, and none of them licenses a private online operator. The police enforce the Penal Code against everything else.

• The Commission’s stated mission is order and safety in casino facilities (art. 214). It grants the casino business licence, and only to a certified integrated-resort operator (art. 39).
• Before that, the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (Japan Tourism Agency) certifies the integrated-resort area development plan (art. 9(11)).
• There is no separate advertising regulator for online gambling because none is lawful. There is also no official licence register: no licence has been issued and the Act sets none up.

Laws that apply

• Penal Code (Act No. 45 of 1907) arts. 185 (gambling), 186 (habitual gambling; running a gambling place) and 187 (lotteries)
• Basic Act on Measures against Gambling Addiction (Act No. 74 of 2018), art. 9-2 added by Act No. 76 of 2025, in force 25 September 2025
• IR Promotion Act (Act No. 115 of 2016) and IR Implementation Act (Act No. 80 of 2018), land-based casinos only; Order for Enforcement (Cabinet Order No. 72 of 2019); Casino Regulatory Commission Enforcement Rules (Rule No. 1 of 2021, as amended to 1 April 2024); Fee Order (Cabinet Order No. 207 of 2021)
• Public-body betting: Horse Racing Act (No. 158 of 1948), Japan Racing Association Act (No. 205 of 1954), Bicycle Racing Act (No. 209 of 1948), Auto Race Act (No. 208 of 1950), Motorboat Racing Act (No. 242 of 1951), Act on Lottery Tickets with Prizes (No. 144 of 1948), Act on Implementation of Sports Promotion Voting (No. 63 of 1998)
• Act on Prevention of Transfer of Criminal Proceeds (Act No. 22 of 2007) · Entertainment Business Act (No. 122 of 1948), pachinko, land-based

No B2C or B2B licence exists for online gambling. The lawful products are monopolies of statutory bodies, a closed set of sellers working under contract, and one land-based casino licence.

• A private firm that sells public-body tickets does so as a contractor, which is not a licence (Horse Racing Act arts. 4 and 21; Bicycle Racing Act art. 3). Entrusted sellers include Odds Park Corp., which sells keirin, auto race and local horse racing tickets online. The number of such sellers is not published.
• Casino business licence (land-based): one licence covers one casino facility and the casino-act types and methods listed in it, for the certified integrated-resort operator only (arts. 39, 40(1)(iii), 42(1)). A separate casino-facility provision licence exists where the facility is owned and managed by a separate certified company (art. 124).
• At most three integrated-resort area plans may be certified in total (art. 9(11)(vii)); each district has at most one casino facility, and the gaming floor may not exceed 3% of the integrated resort’s total floor area (art. 41(1)(vii); Cabinet Order art. 6). One plan is certified (Osaka, 14 April 2023); the Kyushu-Nagasaki plan was refused on 27 December 2023.
• The casino business licence is valid for three years (art. 43(1)); the area plan certification for ten years (art. 10(1)). Permitted casino-act types are ten: baccarat, twenty-one, poker, casino war, craps, sic bo, roulette, money wheel, pai gow and electronic games (Commission Rule art. 3).

This section applies to the land-based integrated-resort casino only. For online gambling no applicant can be licensed.

• No local-office rule beyond stating the facility’s name and location, no local bank-account rule and no residence or nationality rule for directors were found. Foreign-national directors give residence-card or equivalent identity documents (Rule art. 8(6)(viii)).
• No criminal-record certificate is named. Sworn statements that no disqualification applies are filed by the applicant, each officer and each 5% holder, with the Commission’s questionnaire (art. 40(2)(iii); Rule art. 8).
• Equipment makers abroad may be certified by the Commission (art. 150). Online: no applicant can be licensed.

The casino licence has no fixed fee and no annual fee. The cost of review is charged to the applicant on an estimate that no source publishes, so no first-year total can be built.

• The levies are due by the 15th of the following month (Cabinet Order art. 41). A negative month is floored at zero and the shortfall is deducted from later months (art. 192(2)).
• No responsible-gambling levy and no fee per product, game, domain or brand was found. Equipment makers pay the Commission’s review cost and the Fee Order’s fixed fees (for example JPY 9,700 to re-issue a licence document).
• First-year regulatory cost: the sum cannot be built from published figures, because the review-cost estimate is notified to each applicant and no amount is published. No total is shown here.

No tax or levy applies to an online operator, because none can be licensed. The levies below apply to a land-based casino once one opens.

• The casino levy rate does not vary by game (baccarat, roulette, electronic games): one rate on total casino gross revenue.
• Player winnings: takarakuji and toto prizes are exempt by statute. Horse and bicycle race payouts are occasional income (half of the amount above a JPY 500,000 deduction is taxed) or, for continuous profit-aimed buying, miscellaneous income. The Tax Agency’s position on casino winnings is not published.
• Consumption tax: the ordinary input-tax credit does not apply to purchases booked to the casino business of an integrated-resort operator, except where casino income is small relative to taxable sales (Special Measures Act art. 86-6). The rate and the treatment of betting receipts were not confirmed.

No B2B licence exists for online gambling. A supplier to an illegal online casino is not licensed, and the Penal Code and article 9-2 reach those who knowingly assist it. B2B licensing exists only for land-based casino equipment.

• The casino operator may sign supply contracts only if the price is not calculated on casino gross revenue.
• Game aggregators, hosting providers, affiliates and marketing agencies have no licence or registration. Payment providers need the general financial registrations under the Payment Services Act, not a gambling licence.
• No foreign licence is recognised. The Commission has published no register of permitted makers or type-approved models.

These rules bind a land-based integrated-resort casino. No online platform, server-location or geolocation rule exists because online gambling is not licensed.

• Equipment: electronic casino equipment must hold the Commission’s type approval, and the casino may use only approved models (arts. 74(1), 151). Foreign certificates are not recognised as such.
• Games: electronic games must have a theoretical payout of at least 90% and below 100%. Autoplay is not allowed, and consecutive rounds must start at least 3 seconds apart.
• Minimum age: 20 for the casino and for racing betting; 19 for toto. Identity is checked at every entry and exit against the My Number card or a passport (art. 70(1)).
• Visit limits: a person other than a foreigner living outside Japan may enter the gaming area at most 3 times in 7 days and 10 times in 28 days (art. 69(iv)-(v)). The operator queries the Commission at each entry.
• Payments: chips are bought with cash or two listed cheque types; credit cards only for foreigners not resident in Japan (art. 73(9)). Crypto-assets are not accepted for chips.
• Self-exclusion: each operator runs its own measures at the request of the person or family, for at least one year; there is no shared national list (art. 68(1)(i)).
• Warnings: advertising must state that under-20s may not enter and warn that casino use can interfere with daily or social life (Rules art. 105).
• Complaints: the operator must run a complaints window and keep records for three years (art. 111; Rules art. 113). The Commission cannot order repayment to players.

Advertising an illegal online gambling site is itself barred. Public-body betting may advertise under a voluntary guideline, and casino advertising is set by statute (land-based).

• Affiliates, influencers and streamers promoting an offshore casino are within article 9-2 and the Penal Code. Four video-site promoters were arrested in January 2025 for habitual gambling, and two operators of an introduction site in August 2025 for aiding habitual gambling.
• The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications revised its Illegal Information Guideline in September 2025. Between 25 September and 31 December 2025 the Internet Hotline Center sent 2,542 deletion requests for guiding items and 447 for presenting sites.
• Public-sports bonuses are limited to points of up to 1% of tickets bought (5% for a short campaign on a special race), a one-off sign-up reward up to JPY 1,000, and visit points up to JPY 500 per organiser per day.
• No time-of-day restriction, no sponsorship rule and no rule on advertising during live sport was found.

Reporting duties exist only for a land-based casino operator. AML rules are in the Criminal Proceeds Act and the IR Act.

• Reports (land-based): casino operations and facility management every three months (art. 75(1)); dependence-prevention measures within one month after each quarter (Rules art. 43); serious wrongdoing without delay (art. 75(2)). The Commission audits operators every year (art. 196).
• AML: casino operators are specified business operators under the Criminal Proceeds Act (art. 2(2)(xli)). Suspicious transactions are reported promptly; identification and transaction records are kept for seven years (arts. 6-8). Cash transactions above JPY 1,000,000 are reported to the Commission (Enforcement Order art. 16).
• Approvals (land-based): a change of officers, of the casino-act types or methods, or of the structure or equipment needs the Commission’s approval (art. 48(1)). The Commission may revoke the licence (art. 49) or order improvement and a stop to all or part of the business (art. 204).
• Penalties: gambling, a fine of up to JPY 500,000; habitual gambling, up to 3 years’ imprisonment; running a gambling place for profit, 3 months to 5 years (Penal Code arts. 185-186). Under the IR Act a company can be fined up to JPY 500 million for the gravest offences (art. 243(1)(i)).
• Blocking: no Act gives a power to block sites as of 9 October 2026. The study group report of 22 July 2026 asks the Government not to rule blocking out and says that, if used, it needs a law. No bill has been tabled.

There is no online licence to apply for. The steps below are what an operator can actually do: confirm the position, use the contract route that exists for sellers, and, only if the business is a land-based casino, follow the integrated-resort route.

1. 01

   Confirm that no online route exists

   no licence for any private online product

   Any private online gambling product, sports betting included, is unlawful for the operator and the player, even with a foreign licence (Penal Code arts. 185-187). Do not target players in Japan, and do not present or guide to such a site (Basic Act art. 9-2).

2. 02

   Public-body betting: ask an organiser about an entrusted-seller contract

   a contract, not a licence

   Racing organisers may entrust ticket sales to private firms (Horse Racing Act arts. 4 and 21; Bicycle Racing Act art. 3). This is a contract with the organiser and the product stays the organiser’s. The number of entrusted sellers is not published.

3. 03

   Land-based: area plan certification

   window 6 May to 5 November 2027; at most three plans

   A prefecture or designated city and a private operator apply jointly to the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (art. 9(1)). The next window runs from 6 May to 5 November 2027 (Cabinet Order No. 365 of 2020 as amended). One plan is certified (Osaka); no statutory decision deadline was found. The Osaka plan took 352 days to certify and the Nagasaki plan 609 days to refuse.

4. 04

   Land-based: apply to the Casino Regulatory Commission

   certified operator only; review cost on an estimate

   The certified operator applies with the art. 40(2) documents and the Rule art. 8 attachments, including the business-method statement, addiction-prevention and AML rules, expected revenue and expenditure and a funding plan. The Commission examines the fifteen criteria in art. 41(1). Fees: no fixed application fee; the review cost is paid on the Commission’s estimate.

5. 05

   Land-based: inspection, opening and renewal

   licence valid three years; renew no later than six months before expiry

   After the works, the operator applies for the Commission’s inspection of the facility and the devices before opening (art. 44). It then pays the monthly levies of 15% and 15% and reports quarterly. Renewal is applied for no later than six months before expiry (Rule art. 15), and the old licence stays valid until a decision (art. 43(5)). No licence has been granted and no casino is open.

The only supplier licensing in Japan is for equipment used in a land-based integrated-resort casino. It does not extend to online suppliers.

1. 01

   Choose the category (land-based)

   manufacture, import, sale or repair

   A manufacturer needs a permit per factory; importers, sellers (including lessors) and repairers need a permit for their category (art. 143). A foreign manufacturer may instead apply for certification (art. 150).

2. 02

   Apply to the Commission (land-based)

   permit valid three years

   The Commission decides permit applications and charges its review cost (art. 234(1)). Every permit lasts three years (art. 146(1)) and is renewed in the same way with a six-month window.

3. 03

   Type approval or self-confirmation (land-based)

   Fee Order: test-item costs plus JPY 152,400 (plus JPY 22,200 for importers)

   Electronic equipment must pass type approval before it is made or imported (art. 151). Non-electronic equipment is self-confirmed and notified (art. 154). If a designated body tests, the Commission charges JPY 152,400 plus JPY 12,400 (importers JPY 13,100) and the body charges the test-item costs plus JPY 120,900. No designated testing body was found.

Tier-ordered: official government first, then practitioner, then trade media. Every primary figure was read from the in-force text on 23 Oct 2026.