The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) has referred a 13-year-old boy from Kanagawa Prefecture to a child guidance centre after it was discovered he had accessed an overseas online casino approximately 7,000 times.
This case has highlighted the increasing reach of unregulated online gambling among minors in Japan and the regulatory loopholes that facilitate it.
According to investigators, the referral was made in August after evidence showed that the student, who was a sixth-grader at the time, had been actively gambling online from January to July.
The boy from the Kanagawa Prefecture admitted to using a smartphone provided by his parents to place bets, initially funding his activity with his allowance before using his parents’ money without their knowledge.
He reportedly lost the entire ¥260,000 (approximately $1,700) that he had wagered.
The investigation revealed that the student was able to purchase Litecoin through PayPay’s payment platform, which allowed for currency-to-cryptocurrency exchanges without requiring identity verification.
He then used the cryptocurrency to fund an account on an offshore casino website, which he was able to create by falsely declaring his age.
An MPD official noted that the site’s identity checks were “largely symbolic,” making it easy for minors to bypass them.
This incident is part of a wider trend of underage gambling being uncovered by Japanese authorities.
In separate cases, 14 other individuals aged between 14 and 21 have been referred to prosecutors for gambling offenses, and a 19-year-old university student was arrested for helping minors acquire cryptocurrency.
Authorities are now increasing efforts to raise awareness among families about the dangers of unregulated online casinos.
An official from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department (MPD):
“The site’s identity checks are largely symbolic. This case highlights the growing reach of online casinos among minors.”
