Online gambling regulation in Japan: TRON is on the side of decentralization

Japanese criminal code prohibits gambling in general, except a very few exceptions. TRON recently announced its openness to work together with Japanese law enforcement. In fact, TRON apparently bows decentralization. Yet, the company itself violated Japanese regulations. Online gambling regulation in Japan might change the Japanese gambling world. 

The list of legalized betting activities in Japan is quite short

In Japan, gambling falls under general prohibition. However, there are several legal public sports betting activities in Japan. Those are:

• horse racing
• bicycle racing
• motor racing
• powerboat racing

Horse Racing Law came into force in 1923. The other three races were added to the list after the Pacific War. Other sports enjoy the underground scene. Actually, the Yakuza is managing these activities, and many citizens enjoy them.

Pachinko industry is blooming in Japan

Japan’s relationship with gambling is quite complex. In fact, the government strictly regulates the industry and revenues go directly to the state. On the other hand, incredibly popular pachinko parlors can be found literally everywhere. Operating in the prominent legal grey area, pachinko attracts a steady stream of consumers. However, non-regulated gambling is illegal in Japan. Therefore, it might be a bit unclear why the country has  such a large pachinko industry, while gambling still illegal.

Currently, Japan is in the midst of discussions to make casinos legal and permit them in some areas of the country. For several months now, the Casino Bill has been aggressively debated.

Online crypto gambling in Japan

Altogether, we think of Japan as a country welcoming financial technology, known as Fintech. However, online crypto gambling is not well-regulated in the country. That is weird because the country is a massive adopter of cryptocurrencies. What is more, Japanese is one of the biggest driving forces behind the cryptocurrency industry.

According to the Financial Services Agency, last year there were 3.5 million Japanese people actively trading in cryptocurrency. Apparently, most of the traders deal with:

• Bitcoin
• Ethereum
• Litecoin
• Bitcoin Cash
• Ripple

TRON Foundation complies with local regulation

According to online gambling sites in Japan, government is determined to keep its grip over legal methods of gambling within the borders. With developing technology, decentralization just becomes more widespread.

TRON is the eleventh largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. Also, one of the prominent leading networks for Decentralised Applications. As a blockchain-based application, it has been striving to promote its technology. The TRON Foundation recently announced support for the removal of currently gambling DApps in Japanese marketplaces. Moreover, the project suggests that developers stay away from creating new ones. In other words, developers should avoid publishing through Japanese IP addresses.

The announcement adheres to local regulations. Most likely, that sounds quite disappointing for the cryptocurrency community members. Well, TRON just appealed to its development base to comply with the local laws and online gambling regulation in Japan.