Japanese man arrested for gambling JPY90 million on Stake

Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo, Japan

Source: Shutterstock

Japanese police have arrested Makoto Chomabayashi for allegedly wagering JPY90 million (US$632,000)1 JPY = 0.0070 USD
2025-06-02Powered by CMG CurrenShift on the casino platform Stake.

Chomabayashi mainly wagered on baccarat games between August 2022 and April 2025. However, the Metropolitan Police Department believes the man wagered up to JPY28 billion (US$197 million)1 JPY = 0.0070 USD
2025-06-02Powered by CMG CurrenShift, the largest amount attributed to an individual online gambling case in Japan.

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In addition, officials suspect Chomabayashi of being an affiliate for Stake, marketing the platform under an X account named ‘Meikyo Shisui’ with the aim of attracting new users.

Investigators found that from April 2023, he had referred over 100 people to the gambling platform, making JPY7 million (US$49,100)1 JPY = 0.0070 USD
2025-06-02Powered by CMG CurrenShift in commissions.

Online gambling is illegal in Japan, yet despite knowing this, Chombayashi told investigators that he did not think he would be caught.

“News reports said there were hundreds of thousands of players in Japan, so I thought I was only the tip of the iceberg,” he said.

A survey published by the National Police Agency earlier in the year revealed that online gambling in Japan has exceeded JPY1.2 trillion (US$8.42 billion)1 JPY = 0.0070 USD
2025-06-02Powered by CMG CurrenShift, with more than 3.7 million admitting to having gambled on offshore betting sites.

Roughly 40% of these people did not know that online gambling was illegal in Japan.

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