Japan-U.K. Conference on Gambling Addiction Held in Tokyo; Participants Call for Stronger Measures for Young People

The Yomiuri Shimbun

20:00 JST, September 22, 2025

An international conference on measures to combat gambling addiction on online casinos and other platforms was held in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, on Sunday.

The Japan-U.K. Conference on Gambling Addiction had about 500 participants from Japan and Britain, including experts and surviving family members of suicide victims whose deaths were related to gambling addiction.

The participants reaffirmed the importance of strengthening measures to support young people.

“We are seeing an unprecedented situation in which people only need a smartphone to gamble,” said Noriko Tanaka, representative director of the Society Concerned about Gambling Addiction, in her address.

Liz Ritchie from Britain, whose 20-year-old son committed suicide after suffering through a gambling addiction, stood at the podium with her husband, Charles. She spoke about the heartache she feels after having lost her son, saying that it is as if all the color has gone out of her life. She argued that countermeasures against gambling addiction should be seen as an issue society needs to work on as a whole.

A symposium following the speeches was joined by Toshikazu Yamaguchi, president of The Yomiuri Shimbun Holdings, and others. The participants discussed countermeasures for sports gambling, among other issues.

Yamaguchi said that every year around ¥6.5 trillion is gambled illegally on overseas sports by people living in Japan.

“[Countries in Europe] have ratified [the Macolin Convention] on the rigging of sporting events,” Yamaguchi said, describing the aim of the convention as preventing athletes and others from getting involved in match-fixing and other illegal betting activities.

“Japan should sign the Macolin Convention as well and set up an appropriate system,” he said.

Toshihiko Matsumoto, director of the Department of Drug Dependence Research at the National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, pointed out that patients with gambling addictions have a noticeable tendency to become suicidal.

“It’s important that people suffering from this problem don’t slip through the cracks, so that they can get the support they need,” he said.