Casinos weren’t exactly encouraged earlier in the days, seeing how much revenue this industry can generate, various policies have come into play that has focused on creating a safe environment for people to gamble.
Japan is one of the countries that has seen a lot of growth in the casino scene, may it be land-based or internet-based online casino gambling. With Japan having a large population of over 127 million citizens, casino gambling was obvious to catch on. Until recently, the Japanese government wasn’t exactly supportive of the industry.
There are legally licensed forms of gambling that can be played on land as well as online, which is the national lottery known ad Toto (토토). For a long time, the Japanese government was against legalizing casinos no matter where, but the gamblers where anyway playing using foreign gambling sites. This meant a lot of revenue going out of the country.
This is one of the main reasons that made the government reconsider the legalization of casinos. The legalization finally took effect in late 2016. Online gambling still has many restrictions on it. The players can legally gamble online for public sports events, soccer, Toto (the national lottery).
The country has harsh penalties, like a fine of ¥500,000 for first-time offenders and up to 3 years imprisonment for repeat offenders, in effect for illegal and unlawful betting but those aren’t strictly enforced, which is why they are not taken as seriously by the gamblers. This has encouraged the Japanese players to find foreign gambling sources to quench their thirst for gambling.
Even though Japanese casinos are being legalized, there still seems to be no sign of online casinos being legalized anytime soon. Because of the problems like money laundering and gambling addictions, the legalization of online casinos is being opposed by the citizens.
This is why the gamblers have to resort to international websites. When using these sites it is important to know how to choose 最も安全なオンラインカジノ (the safest online casinos) because you won’t be protected by your government if any kind of fraudulent activities takes place on this sites, you are on your own there.
As of 2019, because online casinos in Japan aren’t legalized, you are not required to pay taxes on your online gambling earnings, the reason is that there is no legal precedent to do so. If you play the national lottery, you aren’t required to pay taxes either but if you bet on sports events then you have to report it and pay taxes accordingly. The gambling forms that have already been present do pay taxes, and it might be increased to 22%.
While online casinos aren’t exactly supported by the Japanese government, no action is taken as such against the participants. Legally online casinos cannot operate in Japan, but Japanese players are welcomed by the international casinos. It is important to find safe casinos that provide you with a safe and secure gaming environment and a secure money-transferring channel.