Another case of illegal gambling has arisen in Japan, as a manager for Fuji TV has been arrested for participating. Yoshitaka Suzuki, 44, is suspected of circumventing blocks by connecting to Eldoah Casino, an offshore platform.
Suzuki is accused of accessing Eldoah frequently between September 2024 and May 13, 2025. It’s reported that he played baccarat, a game that often comes up in these cases. The manager had heard about online gambling from a senior in the company five years prior, and had racked up an extensive amount of wagering.
Japan Times reports that the TV variety show planner had spent 100 million yen ($679,000) and lost 24 million yen ($162,187.91). He also apparently continued to gamble while under internal investigation within Fuji TV, providing false answers when questioned on the matter.
Fuji TV, in a statement, said:
“We take the case seriously. We will fully cooperate with the investigation and work to prevent a recurrence of such cases.”
Japan faces gambling issues more frequently
There’s been a significant uptick in illegal gambling cases in Japan, with celebrities and individuals caught up in the wave of illegal wagering. Japan’s only legal methods of gambling for citizens are through horse racing, pachislot, and pachinko, as well as lotteries.
In recent weeks, the Japanese government has moved to make it more difficult for gambling to penetrate the market. However, it’s clear that current methods, like VPNs, will still allow people to circumvent it.
East African Eldoah targets Japan
Eldoah itself is an oddity and is clearly breaching Japanese law, but nothing can really be done. The offshore operator is located in East Africa, in the country of Comoros, and is regulated by the autonomous island government in Anjouan.
It appears that Eldoah’s website may be designed around its customers from Japan since text is entirely in Japanese, and has explicit instructions on how to deposit cash through cryptocurrency or other means directly.
Its support, which ReadWrite has reached out to for comment, is also entirely in Japanese.
