Japanese Teen Gambled 7,000 Times on an Online Casino Using PayPay and Cryptocurrency

Tokyo police have referred a 13-year-old boy from Kanagawa Prefecture to a child guidance center, The Asahi Shimbun reports. Investigators say the student accessed an offshore online casino about 7,000 times, placing bets via a smartphone purchased by his parents.

According to authorities, the teenager gambled from January to July this year — initially using pocket money, then moving on to his parents’ funds.

“I used my phone. At first, I bet small amounts, but later started taking money from my parents,” the boy reportedly told investigators.

To fund his gambling, he bought Litecoin worth around 260,000 yen (approximately $1,700) through the PayPay payment app, which allows users to convert currency into cryptocurrency without mandatory identity verification.

On the casino’s website, the boy entered a false age — and the system did not require any document verification.

Police acknowledged that such sites offer little to no oversight on underage registration.

“Identity checks there are a mere formality. This case once again shows how quickly online casinos are spreading among minors,” a cybercrime division representative said.

Investigators added that the boy lost all the money he had converted into cryptocurrency. He told police he became interested in gambling after seeing news about online casinos on the internet.

The police have also referred 14 individuals aged between 14 and 21 to prosecutors on suspicion of regularly gambling on offshore websites.

Online casinos, along with most other forms of gambling, are illegal in Japan. Participation in unauthorized gambling, as well as operating land-based or online casinos, carries criminal penalties.