JAPAN Law and Practice Contributed by: Masayuki Fukuda, Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu
form of betting that amounts to the crime of gambling. In such case, the esports event organiser collecting registration fees may be charged for committing a crime of “running a gambling place for the purpose of gaining profit” under the Penal Code. Therefore, in Japanese esports events, no registration fees should be collected by participants, or if collected, prize mon- ey should not be paid from such registration fees and shall be paid (directly, if possible) from a sponsor or another third party. 2.2 Land-Based Gambling Only betting on horse races, bicycle races, motorcycle races, motorboat races, and lotteries is operated by the national government, the municipal bodies, and other public sectors (including toto/BIG) in land-based form. All other betting, bingo and casino activities used to be prohibited under the Penal Code. However, as mentioned in 1.1 Current Outlook and Recent Changes , gambling activities to be con- ducted by licensed casino business operators within approved land-based IRs are legalised under the IR Laws. Under the Japan Casino Regulatory Commis- sion’s (the “Commission”) rules, baccarat, blackjack (21), poker, roulette, sic bo, craps, Casino War, mon- ey wheel, pai gow (table game), and electronic-table games are permitted. The Penal Code prohibits gambling activities as crim- inal offences. However, as an exception, the Penal Code will not be applicable to a licensed casino busi- ness operator’s authorised gambling activities oper- ated as a business under the IR Implementation Law. 3.2 Definition of Gambling While there is no formal definition, a commonly per- ceived concept of “gambling” is “betting values in respect of an uncertain event to compete for winning or losing such values”. 3.3 Definition of Land-Based Gambling There is no statutory definition of “land-based gam- bling” or “online gambling” since online gambling is 3. Legislative Framework 3.1 Key Legislation
still illegal under the Penal Code and only land-based gambling (more specifically, licensed casino business- es operated within an authorised IR area) is legalised under the IR Implementation Law. 3.4 Definition of Online Gambling As mentioned in 3.3 Definition of Land-Based Gam - bling , there is no statutory definition of “online gam- bling” since it is not legalised, even under the enact- ment of the IR Implementation Law. 3.5 Key Offences A person who gambles shall be accused of commit- ting a crime of “simple gambling”, though this will not be applicable to a person who bets on an item pro- vided for temporary recreation. A person who habitually gambles shall be accused of committing a crime of “habitual gambling”. A person who provides gambling services (“runs a place for gambling or organises a group of habitual gamblers for the purpose of gaining profit”) shall be accused of committing a crime of “running a gambling place for the purpose of gaining profit”. 3.6 Penalties for Unlawful Gambling A person who committed a “simple gambling” crime shall be punished by a fine of not more than JPY500,000 or a petty fine. A person who committed a “habitual gambling” crime shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than three years. A person who “runs a place for gambling or organises a group of habitual gamblers for the purpose of gain- ing profit” shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than three months but not more than five years. 4. Licensing and Regulatory Framework 4.1 Regulatory Authority The Japan Casino Regulatory Commission is the key regulatory authority.
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