Japanese Comics Facing Prison for Online Gambling Find No Comedy in Situation

Posted on: April 4, 2025, 07:18h. 

Last updated on: April 4, 2025, 07:23h.

Corey Levitan Read More

Expertise: Commercial Gaming, Entertainment, Expert Insight, Las Vegas, Restaurants, Las Vegas Myths.

Six prominent Japanese comedians are under investigation for patronizing online casinos while touring their home country. Online casinos are illegal to use in Japan, though the six men being investigated claim they didn’t know.

Japanese police referred their cases to prosecutors on April 3, recommending “severe penalties,” according to Japan’s Asahi Shimbun newspaper..

Tokyo police said all six men admitted using their smartphones and computers to access Sportsbet.io and other overseas online platforms in 2023 and 2024, the report said. Some reportedly became addicted and ended up hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt.

Dai Yoshimoto, half of the comedy duo Daitaku, allegedly spent $184K gambling with online casinos between 2022 and 2024, losing more than $35K.

“I’ve always been interested in gambling, so it seemed like fun,” he told the Shimbun.

According to the report, all the comedians told police they thought that online gambling fell into “a gray area” and believed they would not face arrest.

The comedians — who also included Yuichi Ohara, a member of another comedy duo, Danbiramucho — are all represented by Yoshimoto Kogyo, one of Japan’s largest talent agencies. Acting on an anonymous tip, police began interviewing several of the agency’s comedians on a voluntary basis this year.

“We sincerely apologize for the concern and inconvenience this has caused,” Yoshimoto Kogyo said in a statement. “We are fully cooperating with the investigation and will take steps to prevent a recurrence.”

Safer Bet

Japan legalized land-based casino gambling within specific integrated resorts via two laws in 2016 and 2018, reversing a 1907 penal code that criminalized both operating a gambling establishment for profit and participating in gambling activities.

However, online casino gambling was never legalized, and violators can face up to three years in prison and a $3,500 fine — even if they use platforms that are operated legally aboard.

Japan’s National Police Agency (NPA) has increased its crackdowns on online gambling since 2023, including arrests in February 2024 of the operators of an online gaming site licensed in the Isle of Man, which they claimed targeted Japanese users.

The NPA claims that more than 3 million people in Japan have gambled online, wagering almost $9 billion in total, though only 60% surveyed knew that it was against the law. The Tokyo-based Society Concerned About Gambling Addiction reported a 372% increase in calls about online gambling issues between 2019 and 2023.

Last month, the Japanese Cabinet revised its gambling policy to crack down harder on payment intermediaries and affiliate marketers who promote gambling sites on social media.