Online Gaming in Japan

Online gambling law mirrors brick-and-mortar law in Japan. Online sports and race betting is available, but other forms of gambling are prohibited with online channels limited to government-run betting on authorized public races and lotteries. Telephone betting was instituted in 1974 for those bettors who lived far from racecourses or offtrack betting facilities. Through a subscription service, members may place their bets by telephone or over the internet. Payments of bet amounts are handled automatically through members' bank accounts after each race. A-PAT and Soku-PAT are the two membership categories that members may use to place their bets over the internet from a mobile phone or a personal computer.