Akihabara News (Tokyo) — Osaka Prefectural Police conducted a simultaneous raid on over twenty amusement casinos yesterday, suspecting that illegal gambling could be taking place at some of these establishments.
The raids took place in Minami, Osaka, where poker and roulette are enjoyed by patrons without betting money on the outcome of the games.
After the police conducted the surprise inspections, which discovered no major infractions, the officers emphasized to the store managers that it is also illegal to offer prizes to the winners.
The police are alarmed that amusement casinos can become fronts for real gambling after arrests were conducted last week. It was discovered that the NPO Japan Poker Association, which has an official mission of promoting poker as an amusement, may have allowed actual illegal gambling in some cases.
Over twenty people were arrested in that incident, including the NPO’s directors. However, most of the suspects–those who were the possible patrons–were held for only a short time and may not face any charges.
Amusement Casino Boom
Amusement casinos have experienced a boom across Japan since the enactment of the IR Implementation Act in 2018. Outlets can now be found in most urban entertainment districts.
The element which keeps facilities safely within the scope of the entertainment law is that the chips won by patrons cannot be redeemed for cash or prizes, other than to continue playing the games themselves. However, police are concerned that in order to maintain long-term customers, some of these entertainment casinos may sometimes cross the legal line.
These establishments routinely focus on educating Japanese about the rules of playing poker and other card games.
They also attempt to attract customers with the provision of alcoholic drinks, and some of them allow smoking. Other outlets feature female dealers dressed as maids.
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