About 3.37 million people in Japan are estimated to have used overseas online casinos, with the amount of money spent on the illegal gambling reaching some ¥1.2 trillion annually, a police survey showed Thursday.
Some 40% of the users were unaware online casinos are illegal, the survey by the National Police Agency showed. "There is a possibility that a lack of awareness about illegality encourages people to use online casinos," an NPA official said.
The police conducted the survey on how online casinos, which are blamed for causing addiction and other problems, are being used in the country for the first time. It was conducted from July to October last year, with 27,145 people between the ages of 15 and 79 giving answers.
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