• A man who spent 90m yen at an online gambling site – roughly $625,000 – has confessed after being apprehended
• He is believed to have wagered more than 28bn in total, although this is still subject to speculation
• Japanese authorities go not only after illegal websites but also the people who participate in those websites as consumers

Japanese authorities have apprehended a man who is suspected to be the single-largest online gambler in Japan, having spent more than 90m yen with a single online website, but is also suspected of spending much more over the years.

The man is arrested for his participation in casino games, rather than hosting or organizing these games themselves, and is the latest case of police intervention in the lives of private persons who have been held accountable for gambling with illegal operators.

Suspect confesses to gambling millions worth of yen online

Previously, a number of celebrities were targeted in a similar police operation, with six popular comedians arrested on charges of gambling. Now, police have arrested a 38-year-old man identified as Makoto Chomabayashi based on reporting by the Asahi Shimbun.

Police suspect Chomabayashi of having spent the equivalent of $625,500 on a global online casino website, mostly playing baccarat. Authorities tracked Chomabayashi's activity to August 2022 through he was finally caught in April 2025.

Police have already extracted a confession from the suspect, with Japanese police having one of the highest rates of closing cases by eliciting confessions from suspects in the world. Chomabayashi reportedly confirmed that he had indeed gambled with an online casino website, and one gambling site in particular.

Although he was aware that the activity was illegal, he believed that he would not get caught, Chomabayashi supposedly told police. He admitted that with hundreds of thousands of players in Japan, Chomabayashi believed to be "the tip of the iceberg," suspecting his fellow players of spending far more generously than he was.

Charges against the man could be just a drop in the ocean of his actual gambling spending

Investigators, though, believe that the 90m yen they have him charged with is just a drop in the ocean. Chomabayashi may have in fact ended up spending more than 28bn yen on gambling, which is the single-largest amount in the history of the country.

As to Chomabayashi’s personal motivation for gambling, he argued that the casino created an environment in which he felt recognized, especially after a big win. A feeling he cherished and found worth pursuing. The suspect has not been tied to any type of illicit activity, suggesting that the funds he wagered were his own and lawfully obtained.

Nevertheless, gambling, even as a consumer, is still illegal in Japan, and it entails action from law enforcement. In the meantime, the National Police Agency believes that as many as 3.37m people are gambling in Japan and that they are spending more than 1.24tn on the activity every year.

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