Gambling in Japan

[2] Public sports, lottery, and toto (football pools) are held under special laws in order to increase the income of national and local governments as well as to offer a form of entertainment.

The Japanese government established the Casino Administration Committee in 2020 to supervise and manage Japan's resort operators.

Takarakuji (Japanese: 宝くじ), i.e., lotteries, are held by prefectures or large cities on a regular basis all throughout the calendar year.

The takarakuji law stipulates that the entire prize pool for any given lottery is to be less than 50% of total sales, with the rest going to local government organizations and charities.

However, players almost always exchange pachinko balls for special tokens, usually slips of gold encased in plastic, and then "sell" them at a neighboring shop for cash.

[6] On April 4, 2011, Shintaro Ishihara, the Governor of Tokyo at the time, spoke against the pachinko parlors, arguing that the popular game together with vending machines were wasting electricity, at "nearly 10 million kilowatts of energy [sic]".

[10] Operating casinos remains illegal in Japan, and recent sports betting on baseball by sumo wrestlers has caused a scandal.

[2] In 2000, former mayor Ishihara proposed building casinos in Odaiba, but despite the high public interest, the idea was not entirely approved.

[12] Casino legislation in Japan picked up fresh momentum with lawmakers submitting the Integrated Resort (IR) Enabling Act to the Diet in 2015.

[19][18] On May 13, 2020, Las Vegas Sands recalled its bid to open an IR in Japan amid postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and global coronavirus epidemic.

MGM Osaka will include 2,300 hotel rooms, a casino, shopping and dining options, convention space and a 3,500 seat theatre.

Examples of notable franchises centered on gambling in Japanese culture include Kakegurui (Compulsive Gambler), Gambling Apocalypse: Kaiji, Usogui, Akagi, Legendary Gambler Tetsuya, Liar Game, Mahjong Hishō-den: Naki no Ryū, One Outs, Rio: Rainbow Gate!, and Tobaku Haōden Zero.