Japanese Police Utilize Crypto Tracking Tool to Arrest Online Gamblers

In
an
unprecedented
move,
Japan’s
law
enforcement
agencies
are
now
actively
pursuing
and
arresting
users
of
overseas
online
casinos,
utilizing
a
novel
crypto
“tracking
tool”.
On
November
26
(JST),
the
Security
Division
of
the
Tokyo
Metropolitan
Police
Department
referred
ten
individuals,
including
a
35-year
old
fire
department
worker,
to
the
prosecutor’s
office.
This
raises
the
tally
of
arrests
made
in
this
regard
to
57
since
September.

In
a
period
marked
by
economic
hardship,
Japanese
citizens
are
finding
themselves
facing
criminal
charges
for
non-violent
offenses
such
as
gambling
on
overseas
crypto
casinos.
According
to
Nikkei,
the
Tokyo
Metropolitan
Police
Department’s
Security
Division
has,
in
a
national
first,
been
identifying
gamblers
using
a
crypto
“tracking
tool”.
Though
regulated
gambling
is
legal
for
certain
activities
such
as
horse
racing,
unauthorized
gambling
is
considered
a
punishable
offense
in
Japan.

Sportsbet.io
is
among
the
websites
reportedly
frequented
by
those
referred
to
the
prosecutor’s
office.
It
is
noteworthy
to
mention
that
since
September,
57
arrests
have
been
made
across
24
prefectures,
with
unsuspecting
individuals
finding
themselves
in
hot
water
for
using
their
money
as
they
saw
fit,
on
overseas
crypto
casinos.
To
date,
the
state
has
identified
130
gamblers
and
plans
to
progressively
clamp
down
on
the
remaining
cases.

Online
casinos
such
as
sportsbet.io,
Vera
&
John
casino,
and
BitCasino,
market
themselves
as
safe,
fun,
and
secure,
and
are
“fully
available
in
Japanese.”
Among
the
individuals
recently
reported
is
a
35-year-old
fire
department
worker
from
Kodaira
city,
Tokyo.
The
group
of
ten
individuals
referred
to
the
prosecutor’s
office
on
the
26th
ranges
in
age
from
their
20s
to
60s.

In
the
meantime,
the
Japanese
public
is
questioning
the
police’s
focus
on
arresting
gamblers
while
other,
arguably
more
pressing,
issues
remain
unresolved.
Among
these
is
the
unresolved
DMM
Bitcoin
hack,
which
resulted
in
the
theft
of
4,502.9
BTC,
an
event
blamed
on
the
North
Korean
“Lazarus
Group.”
The
$305
million-dollar
theft
remains
shrouded
in
mystery,
as
does
the
$532
million-dollar
Coincheck
hack
in
2018.

Public
sentiment,
as
expressed
on
social
media,
strongly
suggests
that
law
enforcement
should
prioritize
catching
hackers
before
gamblers.
There
are
even
suspicions
that
the
police
are
identifying
people
through
their
KYC
information
registered
with
the
sites,
leading
to
suggestions
that
registering
under
a
foreign
ID
and
a
different
name
could
make
prosecution
more
difficult.

Given
the
economic
hardships
faced
by
many,
including
the
elderly
who
are
barely
surviving
on
below-poverty
line
pensions,
the
state’s
hardline
stance
on
individuals
attempting
to
supplement
their
income
through
online
gambling
is
raising
eyebrows.
As
the
debate
continues,
it
remains
to
be
seen
how
this
situation
will
evolve.