Japanese Cop Resigns After Gambling at Online Casino on Duty

The Kanagawa Prefectural Police announced that a male officer in his 20s resigned today after he admitted to gambling at an online casino on the job.

The Japanese media outlet Asahi Shimbun reported that the officer was referred by the Sagamihara Police Station’s Community Affairs Division to the Yokohama District Public Prosecutors Office on “suspicion of gambling.”

The police department took disciplinary action against the officer, “reducing his salary by 10% (for six months)” before the officer voluntarily resigned.

The officer reportedly admitted to the charges, saying: “I thought it would be an easy way to make money.”

The Inspector General’s Office (IGO) accused the officer of “connecting to an overseas online casino site from his smartphone” on several occasions from March to June of this year. The IGO uncovered bets on baccarat and international soccer matches.

The officer bet approximately 2.5 million yen ($16,900) over the course of 500 wagers, with “around 120 of those bets taking place while on duty.”

It is a criminal offense to bet on overseas casino platforms from Japanese territory, but that doesn’t prevent people of all ages from doing so.

“I heard about it from a friend when I was in university, became interested, and started about three years ago,” the officer said.

The officer also noted he’d quit gambling after being hired and entering the police academy in 2023 before suffering a relapse.

“I started again,” he admitted.

The police officer’s name surfaced in June on the “customer list of an online casino that was the subject of an investigation” by the Public Safety Bureau.

Mukai Hiroshi, head of the IGO, stated: “This is an act that has undermined trust in the police, and we offer our sincere apologies to the people of the prefecture. We will thoroughly instruct and educate our staff.”

Earlier this month, police in Japan’s Aomori Prefecture charged a sergeant in his 30s with habitual gambling on online slots and real-time baccarat games while on duty.

A spokesperson said the sergeant placed “approximately 400 bets on overseas online casino sites” during work hours between January 2024 and April 2025. The officer confessed and planned to resign voluntarily.