Advertising loophole
Japan, arguably the world’s most advanced tech-savvy nation, has revealed a stunning weak spot over online casino marketing.
regulatory blind spot
According to the Asahi Shimbun on Monday, a regulatory blind spot allows online casino operators to market their free-to-play products on Japanese internet and television, “which could lead to illegal gambling on their sites.”
The disclosure follows UK-headquartered streaming platform DAZN running free game ads paid for by iCasino site Vera & John. According to reports, DAZN Japan said it allowed Vera & John marketing because it was for free games and “would not lead visitors to a casino site.”
DAZN Japan has since suspended the ads booked by Vera & John, which is owned by a subsidiary of Gamesys, both of which all fall under US gaming giant parent Bally’s Corporation.
Growing concerns
According to Japanese police, a flood of ads for free online casino play has led to a surge of interest in the vertical, which is banned in the country.
The trouble comes from what developed and regulated gambling markets worldwide now take as a given: that iCasino operators dispense free offers to funnel customers into paying for their pastime.
According to Asahi Shimbun on Monday, Japan’s Consumer Affairs Agency stated that there “are no legal regulations on advertisements by online casino operators, both for free games and casino sites.”
fine of up to 500,000 yen ($3,400) or three years in prison
The rub is that Japanese residents who move from free to paid casino games face a fine of up to 500,000 yen ($3,400) or three years in prison, as online gambling is illegal in Japan.
The government’s Consumer Affairs Agency has stated that “a website is considered a gaming site as long as players do not bet money even if it resembles a casino site.”
A March survey from Japan police’s central coordinating law enforcement agency revealed that 24% of respondents started gambling on iCasino sites after playing free games.
The National Police Agency survey added that an additional 9% of respondents stated they started betting at online casinos after seeing ads.
Ignorance was bliss?
The common denominator coming out of Japan is that most people don’t know they’re breaking the law because the online casino ads appearing on national television and accredited media channels appear to sanction their legality.
thought it was legal to bet because “he had seen an ad”
High-profile comic Kuruma Takahira has since admitted to having bet on an iCasino site via a YouTube video link in February. Takahira said he thought it was legal to bet because “he had seen an ad on the internet.”
Shizuoka University’s Professor Emeritus of Financial Theory, Yoichi Torihata, stated playing free, non-betting games “will lower inhibitions for gambling on casino sites.”
Japan’s leading political group, the Liberal Democratic Party, meanwhile, plans to outlaw the online ads via a revisionary bill.